Escaping From the Avengers
by WannabeDragronTamer88
Summary: Steve has made a HORRIBLE mistake by not letting Maddie quit "Avengers School" peacefully like she'd wanted...because now she'll just have to resort to drastic measures! But then Steve's more stubborn than Maddie has anticipated, and Maddie's evil schemes turn out not to be so evil. What's a girl to do? Sequel to Shift.
1. The Training Center

**And Now!**

 **The long awaited (mostly by me,) sequel to Shift!**

 **And because it's been such a LONG wait..I give you the entire story...in ONE GO!**

 ****Yaay***

 **Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Honey! Have you seen my supersuit?"

A long pause. A giggle. "Why do you need to know?"

Clint Barton's eyes narrowed. He slowly turned from his duffle bag to glare suspiciously at his open bedroom door. "I need it." He said after a long moment.

The giggles started up again. "I put it away." Was the response he got, which only elicited more giggles. Clint crossed his arms and moved to the stair landing of his house, which gave him a good view into the living room, where his children sat on either side of a dark-haired menace, his wife seated in a chair next to the couch and folding laundry, face innocent and eyes focused on the task at hand.

"Woman." He said after a long moment. "Where. Is. My. Supersuit?"

The kids covered their mouths, and Laura shot him a wide-eyed look. "I put it away."

"Where?" Clint bit out through clenched teeth.

Laura blinked. "Why?"

Clint rolled his eyes.

"The public is in danger." He tried.

For the kids, his words had them bursting into loud laughter. The dark-haired menace jumped so that she was standing on the couch, face falling into fake anger and hands falling to her hips. "My evening is in danger!" She said in a fake, high pitched voice. The kids laughter, which had been receding, built up again. Laura, the traitor, smiled as well, enjoying the show.

"Madison Sinclair," Clint tried to order, but Maddie was far from finished. She hopped to the coffee table and puffed up her chest.

"We are talking about the greater good!" She said, her voice deepening, and then ratcheting up to the high pitched tone once more. Clint sighed and leaned against the railing, waiting for her to finish.

The children joined in, his beautiful young children, corrupted by the young woman slash menace he'd willingly taken into his home for the last two weeks. "I AM YOUR WIFE!" They screeched, clapping and jumping up and down. "I AM THE GREATEST GOOD YOU ARE EVER GOING TO GET!"

To which Maddie responded, surprisingly enough with Laura's voice joining her in deep and frantic tones, both women smiling. "YOU TELL ME WHERE MY SUIT IS WOMAN!"

The children laughed and clapped, and Maddie smiled, stepping off the coffee table and sending Clint a sheepish expression.

Laura just laughed at him.

"The Incredibles?" Clint shook his head. "Really?"

"You kinda brought that one on yourself," Laura admitted. Clint sighed and shook his head. Laura patted a pile of folded clothes to her right. "Your stuff is here." She moved to stand, but Maddie was picking up the pile and hurrying up the stairs before Laura could move very far. Laura just rolled her eyes and rubbed her large belly, and Clint sent Maddie, menace though she was, a thankful smile.

"That woman is ready to pop." She chastised Clint severely. "You shouldn't be chaperoning me to New York with a wife ready to drop any moment now."

Clint rolled his eyes. "It won't take that long. As soon as your packed, we'll head out, I'll drop you off, pop in and say hi to everyone, and be back. Two days, tops."

But Maddie was shaking her head. "The Center's not even fully ready yet. We still have another week, they just want me there now because they have to assess my skills before allowing me to join the normal population."

Clint rolled his eyes. "It's not that we don't trust you," He tried,

"It's just that you shouldn't trust me." Maddie checked the man, rolling her eyes. Maddie wasn't stupid. She knew what was what.

Clint opened his mouth, but shrugged. The other Avengers had no idea where she'd come from. Steve was being cautious, and that wasn't a bad thing.

"I get it." Maddie shrugged. "And it's all fine. I just don't think I need a chaperone. I'm 22. Put me on a commercial flight and have Spangles meet me at the airport. I'll be fine."

"Not happening." Maddie rolled her eyes, and turned to Laura, who stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Laura," Maddie tried, but Laura shook her head. "Clint is escorting you. Baby will wait till he gets back."

Maddie turned to Clint. "At least wait till tomorrow." She reasoned. "It's already almost dinnertime. We can leave bright and early in the morning, and maybe you'll only be gone one day."

Clint pursed his lips and looked to his wife. She shrugged.

What would another night hurt?

* * *

Maddie's insistence at waiting another night ended up being a good thing. At 1:37 in the morning, Laura went into labor.

Clint, though he'd gone through this twice before, couldn't for the life of him fathom how he would've survived without Maddie, as Laura's grunt in the middle of the night had Clint jumping out of bed and going into a panic. It was Maddie, who'd for some reason been unable to sleep and been walking past the room at just that moment, who'd rushed in, helped Laura sit up, and helped her through her first contraction. It was Maddie who'd ordered Clint into motion, grabbing Laura's hospital bag and anything else that was going to be needed, and rushing to the truck. It was Maddie who'd helped the couple into the truck and waved them off. It was Maddie who'd called their closest neighbor and organized a ride for her and the other two kids, bringing them to the hospital early the next morning, where their baby brother had just been born. Maddie had met the baby, pronounced him the cutest baby in existence, and then ushered in two excited big siblings, pulling Clint aside and waving a piece of paper at him that made it so he wouldn't have to leave his families side.

At 9:37, 8 hours after Laura's water had broken, Maddie was saying her goodbyes and promising Clint's kids that she would certainly come visit, giving Clint a firm handshake, Laura a hug and the baby a kiss, and then Maddie was off, her commercial flight ticket clasped firmly in hand.

"So," Laura smiled wearily at her husband. "What about that girl?"

Clint smiled. Inviting the young woman who'd saved the lives of two avengers and a civilian child was an easy decision: she'd hardly wanted to be stuck in Avengers Tower while waiting for the training center for the building, and Clint could tell the fresh air might do her some good. So he'd warned her of his brats and offered his farm. She'd accepted, and less than four hours after arriving, had befriended his children and endeared herself to his wife.

She'd been extremely helpful the last few weeks in helping with the older kids and in keeping an eye on his very pregnant wife, and Clint appreciated the help and found that Maddie was smart, fluent in sarcasm, and overflowing with an incredible amount of sass.

"She's a handful." Clint grinned. "I'm glad I invited her to stay."

"I agree." Laura nodded her head and rubbed her new sons back. "I wish she didn't have to go, though." Laura pouted for a moment.

"Now who's the one adopting strays?" Clint teased, and Laura rolled her eyes.

"I'm adopting a young woman who has no one. You tend to adopt dangerous criminals. There's a difference."

"Hmph." Clint joined his wife and son on the bed, wrapping an arm around Laura's shoulders and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "If you say so."

The two parents went silent at that, enjoying the moment of peace, and then Laura chuckled.

"What?" Clint asked.

"Maddie is a great person…but I don't think Steve is going to have any idea what to do with her."

Clint shot his wife a look. Then he laughed. "You're right. Maddie's gonna turn that poor team upside down."

He sighed. "I just wish I could be there to see it."

"Tell Nat to take pictures." Laura advised, and Clint brightened.

"That…is a great idea."

* * *

"I hate it."

"Shut it you, we just got here."

"But I hate it."

"Madison." Wanda turned to face her…friend.

For Maddie WAS her friend. She'd talked sense into her and then helped her and Pietro escape Ultron, had assisted in the final battle and saved Pietro's life. Maddie was an odd one, but she was Wanda's friend, and Wanda would do anything for her. "You haven't even gone inside yet. Give it a chance."

"Fine." Maddie crossed her arms and leaned against the seat. "I'll withhold judgement."

"Thank you." Pietro, driving the small black sedan that was now owned by the Avengers Training Center, rolled his eyes. Maddie leaned forward.

"You know," She said conversationally, "I don't like you." Pietro snorted, but said nothing else. Maddie turned to smile at Wanda.

Green eyes met brown and Wanda shook her head, smiling reluctantly. "I like what you did with your hair."

Maddie shook her head, allowing the dark wavy brown, cut to just above her shoulders hair flutter around her face. Her sideswept bangs mussed, but it just made Maddie look more youthful.

"Thanks. Laura cut it for me."

"Barton's wife?" Pietro clarified, pulling the sedan into a parking spot in the underground garage. Maddie nodded. "I've heard she's way out of Barton's league."

"Oh she is." Maddie agreed with a grin, unbuckling herself and reaching for the door handle. Pietro got there first and opened her door for her, and Maddie hopped out. Wanda shot her brother a look, and he shrugged.

"So!" Maddie grinned at Wanda, unaware of the twins silent conversation. "Who's giving me this grand tour?"

"That would be me."

Maddie turned, saluting sharply when she caught sight of the man in front of her. "Captain Spangles." She greeted solemnly. Steve shook his head.

"Madison." He responded just as solemnly. "Come on, let me show you around."

"Sir yes sir!" Maddie saluted again, smiled at Wanda, grimaced at Pietro, and followed the already-exasparated blonde man out of the room.

"Poor Steve." Pietro sympathized. Wanda chuckled.

"Poor Steve." She agreed.

"This, as you're already aware, is the New Avengers Facility. It used to be a Stark Enterprises Warehouse, but Stark donated it for us to use to train." Steve began his explanation the second his feet hit the stairs that would lead to the first floor.

"Isn't Stark retired?" Maddie asked, keeping close to Steve's side. Steve nodded.

"So he's just the Avengers Sugar Daddy now?" Steve coughed, shaking his head quickly.

"Well," Maddie considered reasonably, "He pays for everything, doesn't he?"

"Yes." Steve said shortly. "But he was also until recently a very valued member of this team, and I'd appreciate it if you'd never call him that again." Steve reached the top of the stairs and shot Maddie a serious look. She returned the look just as seriously.

"You'll never hear me call him that again." She promised. Not as reassured as he'd like to be, Steve just turned and began the tour. "This facility has different sections that include Science Research, Military Training, Weapons development, and of course, the New Avengers Program."

Maddie furrowed her eyebrows, eyeing the building and the people that rushed around, in various blue uniforms and lab coats. "Is this a branch of the army?" She asked.

"No." Steve said shortly.

"So what's with the military training? Are they future Avengers?"

"No." Steve repeated. "The New Avengers Program is for future and current Avengers."

"So are you creating a private army?" Maddie pressed.

"No!" Steve made a face. "Why would we do that?"

"Why is there military training?" Maddie retorted, and Steve shot the woman a look.

"Because The Avengers main focus is taking care of major threats. A support team that focus' on the welfare of the citizens will help the Avengers be able to focus on their main task." Maddies eyes narrowed, but she nodded nonetheless, as Steve was finally making sense.

"So…. I get the Weapons development. Do the Blue shirts work in that area?" Steve nodded his head. Maddie took in the room, zipping up her canvas jacket and folding her arms over the stomach. "The military training is support staff; called on to help with major missions and to support the Avengers when necessary."

"Correct." Steve nodded.

"Science," Maddie shuddered. "I dislike it, but I understand it. Who's in charge of that area?"

"That would be," Steve turned his head and raised a hand. "Erik Selvig," An older man reached the duo with a small smile.

"Erik, this is Maddie." Steve introduced.

"Ah yes! The hero of the Avengers." The man, in plaid and khakis, smiled widely and shook Maddie's hand tightly.

"That," Maddie shook her head, "Is a gross exaggeration." Erik shot steve a look.

"Ignore her. She's fabulous." Maddie smiled at the new voice, turning to Helen Cho, who'd approached the small group.

"No, you're fabulous." Maddie corrected.

"No, I'M fabulous." The dry voice had Steve's stiff shoulders relaxing. "Stark." He greeted. "Are you heading out then?"

Stark nodded, then grinned, catching sight of Maddie. "Hey. The punk."

Steve opened his mouth to correct Tony, but Maddie grinned and nodded. "Exactly. That's me; the punk! You're Stark then?"

Tony nodded. "I hear you're taking my place on the Avengers team," He leaned back on his heels, and Maddie laughed.

"That's funny." She said dryly. Stark furrowed his eyebrows, shot Steve a look, and then grinned.

"Well. I think that's my cue to get outta here. Rogers? Walk me out?"

Steve turned to Maddie.

"What he said." Maddie continued. "It was funny…right, Spangles? It was a joke?"

Steve turned quickly to Tony. "Yeah, let me walk you out."

Maddie's smile turned quickly into a frown. "Wait."

Steve pushed Tony towards the doors, the two of them walking quickly. Helen and Erik murmured quickly to Maddie while Steve and Stark made their escape.

Maddies loud screech, the angry "WHAT?!" had the duo speeding up, intent on getting away from the newest addition to the new avengers and from her sudden realization that that's why she was there in the first place.

"You're gonna have fun with that one," Stark muttered as they reached the freedom of the outdoors.

"Fun." Steve snorted. "That's what they're calling it now?"

Stark just grinned.

* * *

Steve Rogers smiled as Natasha fell into step with him, the two of them going to see their new team all together for the first time.

"Nathaniel, huh?" Steve smiled, referring to the picture of Clint and Laura's new son that everyone had been sent that day.

"Nathaniel Maddox." Tasha corrected, snorting.

"Named after someone we know?" Steve joked, and Tasha shook her head.

"Only your favorite person." She teased.

"I've spent less than fifteen minutes with her…combined." Steve shot out. "I can hardly provide you with an accurate prediction of what our relationship is going to look like."

"I can." Tasha smirked. "That girl is going to drive you nuts."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Steve said dryly, turning to Tasha with a headshake.

"Eh, I'm only being honest." Tasha smiled. "Besides, I think it'll be good for you."

Steve huffed. "If you say so." He swung the door open to enter the training room where his new team waited for him.

Falcon hovered a few feet above the air, wings attached and speaking with War Machine, the two laughing about something as Vision stood nearby, head tilted.

Wanda and Pietro stood next to each other, Wanda in black leather pants, black boots, and a red leather jacket that fell in flattering lines, ending midthigh and cinched in at the waist. Pietro wore dark blue running pants and a matching track jacket, the outfit tight but comfortable and made with fabric that would endure the speeds that Pietro was most comfortable with. His outfit boasted silver pinstripes that matched the silver of his running sneakers. The twins spoke in low tones, both watching with amusement Maddie, who looked out of place amongst the Avengers. She wore a navy canvas jacket and a red plaid shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a simple white tshirt. Her dark jeans were tucked into dark brown boots, and her hair fell freely around her face. Her brown eyes were wide as she stared unblinking in Vision's direction. Steve and Tasha shared a smile, when Vision shifted uncomfortably, obviously aware of the girl gawking at him but unsure of what to do about it. Steve, feeling for Vision, cleared his throat, and the room turned to him.

"Avengers," Steve said solemnly, hands going to his utility belt and expression stern. He opened his mouth to finish the sentence, "A-"

"CHOO!" Steve turned to Maddie, who smiled sheepishly.

"Pollen." She admitted. She smiled brightly at the rest of the group, who smiled at her. "So…Assemble, and all that?"

Steve sighed heavily. "Right….and all that."

* * *

Steve made his way down to the kitchens at 2am.

Sometimes the nightmares got real bad.

Expecting to find the kitchen empty, Steve paused at the sight of the Avengers newest recruit, seated on top of the kitchen island and cradling a bottle in her hands.

"Really?" Steve asked dryly. "Is that the smartest thing to do right now?"

"But..." Maddie looked down at the bottle. "I need it."

Steve, despite himself, chuckled. "If you say so." He turned to the fridge, and after a moment, Maddie spoke.

"You're making a mistake."

For being drunk, her voice sounded suprisingly sober.

"Am I?" Steve turned to face her. "About what?"

"Me." Maddie laughed darkly. "I'm no hero."

"From what I've seen." Steve leaned forward and snatched the bottle from her hand. "You seem pretty heroic to me." He took a long drink from the bottle, then handed it back.

"No." Maddie took a drink of her own. "I was just faking it. I hate people. I'm evil."

"Really." Steve raised an eyebrow, and Maddie sighed.

"No." She admitted. "I was lying."

"No!" Steve pretended to be shocked. Maddie nodded miserably. "I'm no hero. I'm a bum."

Steve tilted his head, watching Maddie finish off the bottle. He reached into a nearby cupboard and pulled out another one.

"I don't think you're a bum," He said softly. Maddie lifted her eyes to his, and for a long moment, Steve was lost. Then Maddie snorted.

"Then you're blind." She reached for the bottle, but Steve held it out of her reach.

"Say you're not a bum," He ordered. Maddie rolled her eyes. "Say it," Steve pressed.

"...I'm not a bum." Maddie said reluctantly. Steve grinned and moved the bottle closer to her. "But this one you have to share," He warned.

Maddie chuckled. "I don't think drinking with my boss at 2am is such a good idea." She nodded. "Bad things will definitely come of this."

Steve shrugged and smiled. "You're not on the clock. You don't have to do the right thing right now."

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Then neither do you." She took a long swallow then handed to bottle to Steve, who grinned.

"You're right." He agreed.

* * *

The next morning Maddie woke up with a hangover and regret. Steve had neither, and when Maddie found out that her boss couldn't get drunk but had still bated her into a drinking contest, she vowed to hate him forever.

Which was a GREAT way to start off their working relationship.

* * *

 **There's chapter one! We get Clint's farm, babies, a Stark farewell, a Maddie hello, and a rivalry formed between Maddie and Steve that will wage chaos among the Avengers!**

 **I'm excited...aren't you?!**

 **Reviews and Follows and Favorites are always appreciated!**

 **~CLC~**


	2. I Tried

**Chapter Two; here we go!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"What is this?!"

Steve shot the men and women assembled around the conference room a tight smile. Maddie had been around for two days, and already Natasha's words had proven true. Since Maddie and Steve had gotten drunk together and then Maddie had woken up to find herself the only one with a hangover, she'd been furious with him. Up to this point, he had kept himself from having to deal with her. He shouldn't be...but he wasn't exactly certain how to act around her. So he avoided her. But apparently his luck had just run out. The chair Steve was sitting in squeaked as he turned his tight smile onto the doorway, where Madison Sinclair stood, breathing heavily. "What is what, Sinclair?"

Maddie's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she marched into the room and thrust the piece of paper underneath Steve's nose. "THIS." She hissed. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

Steve leaned back to read the form, and then he sighed. He'd been afraid of this reaction…which is why he'd made Tasha give it to her.

"That's your schedule." He said slowly.

"Duh, Captain Obvious." Maddie rolled her eyes. "But why is there SCIENCE on it? And also," Maddie poked the paper so hard she ripped it. "EXERCISE?"

"You're new to all of this," Steve said patiently, shooting the group he'd been meeting with an apologetic look. "We,"

"You mean YOU," Maddie interrupted.

"Fine." Steve shrugged. "I," He stressed, "believed it would be best if you spent time learning about all of the aspects of the center, and of being an Avenger, science included. If you had bothered to look, both Wanda and Pietro have similar schedules,"

"Yes, but THEY want to be here." Maddie interjected angrily.

Steve pushed his chair back and stood. "You wanted to be here two days ago."

"Yeah, when I thought this was going to be a wham, bam, thank you Cap, kinda thing!" Maddie threw her hands up in exasperation, and Steve winced internally.

"I'm not a team player, I'm allergic to heroics, and don't get me started on SCIENCE!"

"I'm not giving you a pass." Steve interrupted. He crossed his arms. "Science stays."

Maddie stopped ranting to consider Steve's words. She could tell he was serious, and she wasn't one to beat a dead horse. She wasn't some dumb teenager.

"Well. What about the EXERCISE?" Maddie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Exercise is good for you." Steve shook his head.

"Eggs as sides, are good." Maddie corrected. "EXERCISE is bad for me."

"I'm not changing that either." Steve shrugged apologetically, and Maddie growled.

"Why not?"

Steve smiled as Maddie fidgeted. "Because I don't want to." He said simply.

Maddie snarled. "You're an old fart." She whirled around, intent on making a dramatic exit.

"Oh yes." Steve retorted dryly. "Insult me. Surely that'll work in getting you what you want."

Maddie threw the conference room door open, turning for one last parting shot.

"Don't be surprised if the next time you choose to use the facilities all of the toilet paper is mysteriously missing!" She warned, slamming the door shut behind her.

Steve shook his head wryly. "Sorry about that" he apologized to the group.

"No worries." One of the men grinned. "That was vastly entertaining.

"But was her threat a real one?" A woman mused.

Steve snorted. "She wouldn't dare."

* * *

"SINCLAIR!"

Maddie, seated between Pietro and Wanda, diligently taking notes on the lecture Tasha was subjecting the three of them two, smiled mischievously.

"Do I want to know?" Tasha asked, smirking.

"Do you?" Maddie asked slyly.

Tasha tilted her head…. then she shook it, quickly continuing in her lecture.

Underneath the table Pietro and Maddie fist bumped, and Wanda, agreeing with Tasha, shook her head.

She didn't want to know either.

* * *

"Alright. Laps." Steve strode into the lab, interrupting Helen and Selvig as they argued with each other, leaning over Maddie's shoulder and glaring at the notes she'd taken.

Maddie looked up, eyebrow raised. "Aw darn. Better suit up, Selvig, looks like spangles wants you to run laps."

Steve crossed his arms. "No. I want you to run laps."

"Is this because I stole all your toilet paper?" She guessed shrewdly.

Steve blinked.

"Because, in all fairness," Maddie continued, tapping her chin with her pencil. "I did warn you."

"Sinclair." Steve said slowly. "Laps. Now."

Maddie crossed her arms. "You want me to run laps?" She inferred.

Steve nodded.

"Right now?" She asked.

Steve nodded again.

"How many?" Maddie questioned.

"How many laps?" Steve thought for a moment. "How old are you?"

"22." Maddie answered promptly.

"Your age multiplied three times."

Maddie shook her head. "My age multiplied three times plus three." She bartered.

Steve frowned. "That's 69 laps."

Erik snorted. When Steve shot him a look, Erik just shook his head. Steve turned back to Maddie. "Fine Sinclair. Your age times three plus three."

Maddie smiled. "That's my punishment?"

Steve frowned at Maddie's smile. "Yes?" He said slowly.

"And then we're even?" She added shrewdly.

Steve felt like he was being manipulated…but he couldn't tell how. He nodded slowly…VERY slowly.

Maddie grinned.

"I get out of science, the most horrifying thing in the entire universe….in order to do 69 laps, which is 17 miles, give or take a lap…" Maddie nodded. "For the former high school cross country star, I think I'll be able to handle it!" Maddie jumped up from the table." Thanks, Spangles, you're the best!" She gave Steve a giant hug as she left. Erik and Helen began to laugh the moment Maddie disappeared, laughing harder at the look on Steve's face.

"What just happened?" Steve asked, bewildered.

Helen and Erik just kept laughing.

* * *

"Wait….there!"

"And…Again!"

"3…2….HAH!"

"This seriously never gets old…THERE!"

Steve, Tasha, and Wanda, discussing training ideas, paused as they saw Falcon, Rhodey, and Vision looking out one of the windows all with vague amusement.

"What's going on?" Steve joined the group at the window, and Sam beamed and pointed. Steve followed Sam's finger to find Maddie, wearing the black nike's she always wore along with dark skinny jeans and a gray hoodie, an angry look on her face.

"She didn't change into running clothes?" Tasha asked bemused.

"She looks angry." Wanda bit her lip.

"Good." Steve said firmly.

"You haven't even seen the best part." Rhodey and Sam turned back to the window, and after a moment, Steve did the same.

Maddie ran the perimeter of the building easily, her strides long and her elbows bent close to her sides. But her fists were clenched tightly. After a moment, a gust of wind rushed past her, throwing her off balance and against the side of the building. Maddie's eyes narrowed and she mumbled angrily under her breathe, moving to continue her lap. Not even two seconds later, the gust of wind returned, throwing Maddie off balance once more, darkening Maddie's expression even further.

"Pietro." Steve said after a moment. "That's brilliant."

"That's not nice." Wanda's brow furrowed.

"But it's funny." Sam grinned, and catching Rhodey's eye, the two beginning to laugh uproariously.

"Maddie will be forced to seek revenge," Tasha warned.

"Yeah…if she can catch him." Sam and Rhodey began to laugh again.

"Oh," Tasha leaned to one side to catch sight of Maddie, her smile widening. "I don't think that'll be a problem."

Everyone turned to the window to see Maddie frozen mid-run, one foot planted on the ground, the other half-lifted, her arms raised. Her eyebrows furrowed, and the gust of wind passed her once….then twice, not noticing that Maddie hadn't moved. Steve's eyebrows raised as he realized Pietro probably didn't a notice a difference between what she was doing now and when she'd actually been running, what with how fast he'd been going. After Pietro's third time running around a frozen Maddie, Maddie suddenly burst into motion, her feet flying as she ran as fast as she could, allowing Pietro to pass her two more times before she stepped quickly to the left.

Pietro continued his laps, oblivious to the fact that Maddie had disappeared.

"Now what?" Vision asked, bemused.

The rest of the group stayed silent, wondering the same thing.

Suddenly, Maddie jumped out of her hiding place, timing it exactly right…so that when Pietro reappeared for his next lap, she rammed right into him, throwing him off balance…and to the ground.

"Ooohhh!" Sam and Rhodey winced in sympathy, but Steve's eyes widened.

"Clever." Tasha nodded, impressed.

Wanda laughed, loudly. The group turned to her, and she shrugged.

"My brother has never been bested before." She admitted. "This is a wonderful change of pace." Wanda winced. "But he won't be best pleased."

And Pietro wasn't. He had jumped up and was arguing angrily with Maddie, who was just as angry, poking him in the chest, eyes flashing. The argument went on for a while, and Steve quickly grew bored. He rapped on the glass a few times, and the duo turned quickly, eyes widening as they took in their audience. Without even glancing at each other, the two came to the same decision, bodies going limp as they fell to the ground.

Sam and Rhodey burst into laughter once more.

"They're not really dead." Vision said after a moment.

Tasha shot Vision a look. "No." She agreed. "They're foolishly playing dead."

"Oh. Good." Vision walked away, oblivious to the stunned silence he left behind. Sam and Rhodey burst into giggles once more. Steve rolled his eyes at them and rapped on the window.

"I know you're alive." He yelled. "Knock it off!"

Maddie jumped up and turned to the window, sticking her tongue out at Steve. Pietro stood as well, sending Steve an apologetic look before wrapping a hand around Maddie's waist and disappearing; taking the brunette menace with him.

"She's going to be the death of me." Steve moaned.

Tasha just smiled.

* * *

 **So Maddie's not going to make it easy...surprise surprise!**

 **And what kind of former track star doesn't like exercise?**

 **A lazy one...that's who!**

 **Reviews and Follows and Favorites are great!**

 **~CLC~**


	3. I Quit

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Science…hate it."

A spiral notebook flew into the hallway, causing Sam to pull the headphones out of his ear and furrow his eyebrows.

"Exercise…gross." A pair of sneakers joined the notebook, and Sam smiled as realized which doorwar the items where coming from.

Maddie's room. Of course it was.

"Kid?" Sam peeked his head around the doorframe at the exact wrong moment, jerking his head back as a large knife joined the sneakers and notebook.

"…sorry."

"Is it safe now?" Sam waited out of the way, eyes wide.

"…yeah." Sam entered Maddie's room slowly, shooting her a concerned look.

She sat on the floor, surrounded by most of her belongings; a few changes of clothes, some books, the blankets from her bed. She looked like a sad, small little bird.

"Are you okay?"

Maddie shrugged. "I'm quitting."

"Because of the exercise?"

"Because this is HERO school." Maddie corrected. "And I'm not a hero. I haven't earned a spot on the team. Steve just doesn't know what to do with me. Also," Maddie tilted her head. "Because I hate Steve."

Maddie didn't sound bitter, Sam noticed as he sat down across from her. She sounded matter of fact, certain in her own inferiority. Maddie also sounded right.

And maybe she was right…a little.

"First of all," Sam shook his head. "If Steve didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here. You're here for a reason, and it's not because he didn't know what to do with you. It's because he saw your potential."

"Maybe." Maddie relented. "I am pretty amazing."

"You are." Sam agreed. "And as for you being hero material, are any of us? Besides Steve, of course."

Maddie snorted. "He was born a superhero." She agreed. "But the rest of you seem like you know what you're doing."

"Right away, I can tell you we don't." Sam shook his head. "I'm coming out of retirement, the twins are former bad guys, Vision's getting used to legs and Rhodey's new to the small team aspect of it. Right now, none of us are hero material. But that's why we're here…because we're LEARNING."

"I don't want to learn," Maddie said stubbornly. "I want to go home."

"And you can't right now." Sam argued softly. "So why not just stick with us a little while longer?"

Maddie huffed. Then she leaned over and patted Steve's arm.

"Thanks for the pep talk." She thanked. Then she stood and made her way to the door. Sam turned slightly. "So…you'll stick around?" He asked.

"Oh no." Maddie yelled back. "I'm still quitting. But good effort!"

Sam rolled his eyes. The girl was weird.

But weren't they all? She fit right in. Why would she ever want to leave?

Sam wasn't too worried though. Like Steve would let her quit.

* * *

"Happy birthday!"

Steve looked up slowly from his report.

Maddie smiled down at him, eyes bright and smile wide. She held a white envelope in her hand.

"My birthday's two months." He said slowly.

Maddie's smile went from genuine to tight. "Happy Early Birthday." She rephrased.

Steve looked down at the envelope. Then he looked back up at Maddie.

"I don't want it." He said frankly.

Maddie shoved the envelope in Steve's face. "Take it." She said darkly.

Steve took it.

He opened the envelope quickly, determined to get whatever trick Maddie had up her sleeve done so that he could get back to work.

It took Steve a few minutes to realize what he was looking at.

"This is a resignation letter."

Maddie nodded brightly. "It's MY resignation letter, to be specific." Her smile widened.

Steve was silent for a long moment. Then he shook his head. "I don't accept it." He pushed it towards her. She immediately pushed it back.

"You have to." She ordered.

"You haven't even tried." Steve argued back.

"Nine days!" Maddie retorted. "Nine days of science, and exercise, and superhero lessons, and I have no intention of being a superhero! So this is all just a waste of my time! And if I'm going to accept that I'm stuck in this weird dimension forever, I would like a real job!"

Steve leaned back in his chair, blinking slowly at the young woman in front of him.

She wasn't a kid. She was an adult who knew what she thought and she didn't think she belonged there.

But she was wrong.

But Steve knew that if he tried to say so, she wouldn't listen. So he said nothing.

"Well!?" Maddie finally cracked. "Are going to accept it or not?!"

Steve tilted his head. "Accept what?" He asked blankly.

"My resignation." Maddie bit out, doing her best not to reach out and choke the superhero to death.

Steve picked up the paper, her resignation, and moved a few steps to the left, to the corner of his office. Quicker than Maddie could react, he pulled a lighter out of his pocket, lit the paper on fire, and dropped it in his garbage can.

Maddie's mouth dropped open in shock.

Steve moved back to his seat and slowly sat down.

"What resignation?" He asked innocently.

Maddie tried to speak, but no words would come out, and her finger pointed uselessly in the direction of the trash can.

Steve enjoyed the moment…because soon enough, the anger came.

Maddie's face went bright red and her lips pursed in anger, and after a long moment of just glaring at Steve's face, she huffed and stormed out.

Steve smiled, thinking of the storm that was headed Tasha's way.

* * *

"Tasha, I made this for you."

Tasha whipped her sweaty hair out of her face to regard the woman standing next to her treadmill, holding out a white envelope.

"What is it?" She asked, not reaching for the envelope.

Maddie's eyes narrowed.

"It's an envelope with a paper in it. Just take it."

Tasha tilted her head, catching a glimpse of Rogers hiding just around the corner, watching. She sighed internally.

This was a Steve/Maddie issue then. Pressing a few buttons, the treadmill slowed it's pace and tasha hopped off, holding her hand out. Maddie handed it over gratefully.

Tasha didn't even bother to open it. "Is this an I quit letter?"

"Yes it is." Maddie nodded. "I tried hanging out with y'all, but you are too weird. So I'm leaving. I tried to give Steve one, but he set it on fire." Tasha raised an eyebrow, and Maddie turned to the doorway, "Because he's absolutely INSANE!" She spoke loud enough that Steve could hear her, "And I realized I should never have brought it to him in the first place, because he's crazy and RUDE," Maddie spoke louder, glaring at the wall as if she could see right through to Steve. "So I brought it to you, the…." Maddie frowned as she turned back to Tasha, "Sane…" She tried to finish her sentence and piece together what had happened. Tasha swallowed quickly. "One." Maddie bit her lip. "Did you just eat my resignation letter?" Tasha shook her head innocently, then picked a piece of paper out of her teeth.

She smiled at Maddie's shock.

"What resignation letter?"

* * *

Okay. It was official. Maddie sat on the roof of the center, thinking over the disaster of a day.

The people Maddie was stuck with here were absolutely, certifiably, insane.

And since they refused to let her quit quietly, Maddie would of course have to resort to drastic measures.

They wouldn't let her quit? Well…then she'd just have to do everything in her power to get fired.

And sitting on the roof, watching the people come and go from the building, Maddie slowly smiled.

She already had a few ideas.

The Avengers had NO idea what they had just signed up for…but they were about to find out.

* * *

 **Maddie has evil plans...and I love it!**

 **~CLC~**


	4. Fire Me, Maybe?

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Hey you're still here!" Sam smiled at Maddie, who paused in her furious writing to send him a sly smile.

"For now," She said mysteriously.

Rhodey looked confused, but Sam grinned.

"My pep talk totally worked then!" Maddie's eyes widened.

"Sure." She said brightly after a long pause. Sam propped a hand on his hip.

"They wouldn't let you quit then?" He guessed. Maddie shrugged.

"You tried to quit?" Rhodey's face brightened in understanding. "Well how did that work for you?" He teased.

"Obviously," Maddie gestured to the empty lab she sat in, "it DIDN'T work. But it's fine," she shrugged. "I have an idea." She nodded to the pieces of paper in front of her.

Rhodey looked at one. "A bunch of names?" He gave her a side eye. "You're not going to disappear with a new identity, are you?"

"First of all," Maddie rolled her eyes. "Those are guys names. Second of all, that's Plan F. This," Maddie pointed to the other papers, "Is still plan B."

"So what is this then?" Rhodey poked the paper that had the names on it.

"That…is a list of people who exist in this dimension that ALSO existed in my dimension."

"Anyone fun?" Sam leaned over to take a peek at the names. His eyes widened at one.

"You know this guy?"

"In another life…" Maddie tilted her head and smirked. "Yeah."

"Was he also filthy rich and crazy smart and insanely good-looking?" Rhodey pressed.

Maddie smiled. "Rich? No. Smart? Well…he wasn't dumb. But good-looking? Yes." Maddie's smile turned wistful. "Just as good-looking."

Sam and Rhodey shared a look. "So this guy…you gonna try and meet up with him? See if you guys can be close in this world too?" Sam wiggled his eyebrows at the word "close".

Maddie shoved him. "No, you gross old man." She turned back to the paper. "There wasn't really…anything there. I mean," Maddie leaned back, "There might've been, but we just…ran out of time." Maddie scrunched up her nose sadly, then she shrugged. "But it's fine. Love is for suckers. Revenge on the other hand…" Maddie smiled evilly. "Now that's for everyone."

Rhodey and Sam turned their attention to the other papers, and while Sam's smile widened as he read, Rhodey's frown deepened.

"I don't approve." Rhodey shook his head.

Sam laughed. "I do." He pointed at the title of the page.

"This," he told Maddie seriously, "is genius."

Maddie smiled smugly.

"I know."

* * *

"So what is it?"

"It's a list, stupid."

Pietro made a face. Maddie, too preoccupied with staring at her list, didn't notice. Wanda rolled her eyes. "But what is the list for?" She pressed.

"I'm trying to get fired." Maddie turned to her friends. "This list is my get outta jail free card. If I just do the things on the list, Steve will get so mad and tired of me that he'll fire me."

"Why don't you just quit?" Pietro huffed, crossing his arms. Maddie turned to shoot him a glare.

"Don't you think I tried that? Because I did try that."

"And they didn't accept?" Wanda guessed. Maddie huffed.

"Of course they didn't accept! Captain Underpants set my form on fire, and Romanoff ATE it."

Pietro snorted. "She didn't."

"She totally did!" Maddie poked Pietro in the chest, and Pietro took a seat next to one of his favorite people. After a moment, Wanda sat down at Maddie's other side. "And since they won't let me leave in peace, then I'll just have to leave this place behind in pieces."

"Maddie," Wanda began slowly, "What's so wrong with being here? With working with us?"

Maddie turned to Wanda. "It's," She paused for a moment, thinking. "It's not because I hate you guys, or I think I would suck at the work. It's just that all of this, the saving the day, the running, the science?" Maddie shuddered. "It's not my thing. It never has been. I'm a writer. I kill people with words, not swords."

"So what else are you going to do? You don't exist here, Maddie."

Maddie shot Pietro a glare, but then sighed. "You're right…for once." Pietro grinned brightly and raised a fist, and Maddie pointed a finger at him. "Don't get a big head, I said for once. And maybe I haven't thought all the kinks through, but I'd rather be making my own bad decisions than giving up control and letting someone else tell me how to run my life. What kind of a future evil world overlord would I be if I did that?"

Wanda and Pietro shared a look.

"A bad one?" Wanda tried, and Maddie beamed. "Exactly! Now," she pushed her list towards the twins. "What do you think of my list?"

Wanda and Pietro perused the list, Wanda's eyebrow raising as she read, and Pietro's smile widening.

"This is genius." Pietro approved.

"I have horrible feelings about this." Wanda proclaimed.

"Perfect!" Maddie grinned.

* * *

"Hey Vision!"

Vision paused, slightly surprised. Maddie had never specifically called him out before. He turned to where Maddie sprawled against the large couch in the common room all of the recruits shared, and worn piece of paper in her hand.

"Yes, Madison?" He asked politely.

"Come look this over for me, will you?" She held out the paper, and after a moment, Vision moved to retrieve it.

Vision scanned the paper. "These are infractions worthy of termination." He inferred.

"Right." Maddie sat up and nodded, unaware that half of her hair stood on end. "But what do you think of the level of success each of the infractions have?"

Vision tilted his head. "Some of these ideas are quite…thorough, with high levels of success. But others will only end with minor punishments, and not the desired result of termination."

"Darn it." Maddie made a face. Then she brightened. "Well, do you have any suggestions?"

Vision watched Maddie's face for a moment. She blinked innocently, face open. Vision sighed and turned back to the paper.

"Number four. Perhaps add a level of permanent damage?" Maddie rose to her knees to read over Visions arm. She nodded slowly.

"Good. Anything else?"

"Perhaps a security breach? Those are always very serious. Or even the refusal to answer a call?"

Maddie grinned. "Brilliant." She took the paper back and began to add to the form. "Thanks Vision."

Vision nodded, proud to have been of help. But then he paused.

"What is the purpose for such a list?" He asked lightly.

"Oh." Maddie looked back up. "I'm trying to get fired. This list," She waved the paper, "is my ticket. And thanks to your wonderful suggestions," Maddie winked. "I'm sure to get fired now!"

Vision opened his mouth, momentarily speechless. "You plan to actually commit these infractions?" His voice was high with worry.

"Of course!" Maddie nodded, and Vision's heart sank.

Maddie hopped up from the couch and hurried away, probably to being wrecking havoc on the center, Vision thought, realizing that he'd just become an accomplice to Maddie's crimes.

After a moment, Vision shook his head. This wasn't something the Captain needed to hear about…right?

Especially not about Vision's complicity.

Besides, Maddie would never actually do anything that might cause damage…right?

Vision nodded and walked away briskly. Of course she wouldn't.

Everything would be fine.

And Steve DEFINITELY didn't need to hear about this!

* * *

"She's up to something."

Steve didn't look up from the report he was writing.

"She's always up to something."

"Yes, but this time…the others seem to be in on it." Tasha turned from the window she'd been staring to shoot Steve a look. Steve sighed and pushed his report away.

"And don't you think if it were something to worry about they would've told us?" Steve asked patiently. Tasha rolled her eyes.

"With anyone else, yes. But Sinclair's situation is unfortunate, and what with her feeling trapped and none of us able to help her, their guilt and sympathy may silence them."

Steve shook his head and rose from his desk to join Tasha at the window.

Downstairs, Maddie rolled away from Sam's kick and rose in a ready position, dark hair plastered to her face as she sparred with both Sam and Rhodey, Wanda cheering her on from the sidelines. Maddie went for Rhodey's face and when he dodged shoved the now unbalanced man into Sam, kicking Sam's legs out from under him at the same time. When the two men fell onto the mats, Maddie promptly climbed on top of them and raised a fist.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "These guys like her. Plus, she's a great asset to the team. Maybe she didn't think so when she tried to quit, but I think she's starting to see her potential, and I also think," Steve turned to Tasha, "that she's finally accepting the situation."

"Well." Tasha couldn't help but quirk a smile at the scene before her, of Pietro chasing Maddie and Sam and Rhodey still on the ground, yelling for revenge. "I think she's just waiting."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Waiting for what?"

"For us to drop our guard."

"I think you're just paranoid." Steve shook his head and returned to his reports, leaving Tasha to watch their recruits rough house.

"I think this will not end well." Tasha finally muttered, moving away from the window and back towards her own stack of paperwork.

Usually, Tasha's predictions proved true. This specific prediction would prove true, in a way.

It would NOT end well. At least…it wouldn't end well for Maddie.

* * *

 **Will Maddie's evil plans work?! Or will they backfire? Stay tuned!**

 **~CLC~**


	5. Miscommunication

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Alright team," Steve smiled at the group seated before him: Sam, Rhodey, Vision. Tasha standing in a corner of the room, arms crossed. Wanda, and pietro, a slightly subdued Maddie seated between them.

"You guys have been together and training for a while now,"

"Four weeks, 3 days, 19 hours, 8 minutes and 46, 47, 48," Maddie muttered under her breath, causing Pietro to snort and Steve to shoot Maddie a dirty look.

"Don't act like it's been such a hardship," he chastised. "You've by far made the most progress out of everyone,"

"Because I started from the bottom while everyone else was at level 69 already." Maddie muttered again.

Steve pursed his lips and shot Tasha a look. She just shrugged.

"As I was saying," Steve continued tightly. "We are very happy with the progress that everyone has been making, and we've deemed the entire team ready to take on actual missions.

The room perked up at this news…everyone except for Maddie, who groaned loudly and slid dramatically out of her chair and onto the floor.

"Knock it off Sinclair." Steve warned. "Now, we'll be starting with simple missions, and we'll only be sending out small groups at a time, so there is a bit of a rotation schedule. Some of you will be out on the field while others will be working behind the scenes, and then you'll switch."

Maddie's raised hand was the only part of her that Steve could see, and he sighed.

"What, Sinclair?"

"How many missions am I stuck doing tech work until I actually get into the field?"

Steve sighed again, and checked the forms he held in his hand.

"You're tech for your first six missions." He announced slowly.

Maddie's face slowly rose from under the table, her glare frigid and directed at Steve.

"I see." She said frostily. "Please continue."

Steve sighed for a third time, and then continued with his debrief.

Thankfully, Maddie chose not to interrupt, and the rest of the meeting went smoothly.

Unfortunately, it was a little harder for Steve to concentrate than it usually was, what with Maddie's death glare and all.

* * *

"Really Steve?" Tasha caught up to him after the meeting. "Six tech assignments in a row?"

"The thought of Maddie in the field makes me uncomfortable." Steve admitted.

"You've never seen Maddie active." Tasha accused. "How do you know she won't excel?"

"I don't know." Steve answered, turning to his fellow Avengers leader. "And I may be pleasantly surprised about her level of success. But I'd rather be pleasantly surprised later than horrified now."

Tasha shook her head and crossed her arms. "What's your beef with this kid?" She demanded to know. "You've been harsh on her from the beginning."

"It's called tough love, Nat," Steve snapped. "Look it up."

Tasha rolled her eyes and stepped away. "Whatever Rogers." She held up her hands in surrender. "Just don't come whining to me when it all blows up in your face." She strode out of the meeting room, and Steve picked up his papers.

"It won't blow up in my face." He muttered grumpily. "I know what I'm about."

* * *

"Okay, Falcon, Machine, your path is clear." Maddie adjusted the Comms in her ear and turned back and forth in her swirly chair. "You're going to want to hasten your pace, Cap," She added, checking the computer screen to her write. "You've got angry birds right on your butt."

"Sinclair, stick to the script." Steve's voice was staticy, but clear enough that Maddie could understand him…and roll her eyes.

"Sorry Cap. You seem to have lost the birdies…I mean, the unfriendlies. You're going to want to take a left though."

The screen Maddie watched showed an empty corridor on the right and a large group of unfriendlies on the left.

"Definitely the left," Maddie agreed. "There's an exit door straight ahead, and then you're home clear."

Right after he dealt with the group of angry birds, but Maddie forgot to mention that part.

"Got it." Cap agreed. "Make sure Falcon and Machine get out safe."

"Roger that." Maddie smirked. "I'm turning you down. See you on the flip side."

"Stick to the script Sinclair." Cap ordered once more before he flipped his comms off.

Maddie rolled her eyes, rolled her chair slightly so that she could focus on the opposite screen, and turned her attention to direction Falcon and Machine safely out of the warehouse they'd infiltrated. Once she'd successfully completed her part of the job, she'd shut down the machine and headed to the kitchens to steal Pietro's Donuts, vaguely wondering if she'd forgotten something.

She quickly shook the feeling off and helped herself to all but one of the donuts Pietro had hidden…in the laundry room, of all places.

* * *

"I can't believe you ate all of them." Pietro grumbled. Maddie smirked at the grumpy man and sent Wanda a wink, who shook her head at Maddie and patted Pietro's shoulder in sympathy.

"In my defense, I did not know they were yours." Maddie tried. "I thought they were the cleaning ladies…why else would they be in the laundry room?"

"Because I was hiding them from you!" Pietro burst out. "You and your thieving ways."

Maddie smiled and opened her mouth, but Steve burst into the room at just that moment, eyes wild and papers clutched tightly in his hands.

"Cap!" Pietro stood. "Where have you been? The mission was over hours ago."

But Steve acted as if Pietro hadn't even spoken, moving quickly towards Maddie and hauling her upright with one hand clenched into her shirt.

"Hey!" Maddie struggled, but Steve spoke over her.

"Did you know?" He bit out. Maddie furrowed her brow as she thought, but she took too long for Steve, and he shook her forcefully. "DID YOU KNOW?!" He roared.

Pietro took a step forward hurridly, fists clenching, but Maddie held out her hand, forcing him to pause.

"Did I know what?" Maddie asked, voice high.

"Did you know about the men? In that corridor?" He demanded, voice raising in anger.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't!" Maddie retorted quickly, backing up a few steps. "What's the big deal anyway?!"

Maddie's eyes darted towards the rest of the team, who'd been drawn to the room by Steve's raised voice.

Steve growled, speechless in his anger, and then jerked forward. The other Avengers hurried forward to stop Steve and protect Maddie in equal parts, though they paused when they realized what it was that Steve was doing.

Steve wasn't hurting her, though from the look of shock on Maddie's face, what he was doing was mostly likely traumatizing in its own way.

Steve wasn't hurting her, or shaking her. Steve was hugging her.

Tightly, the group surmised as Maddie suddenly grimaced.

Steve's arms were wrapped around Maddie's face and his eyes were clenched tightly.

Maddie's arms were raised above her head, and her eyes pleaded with the others to somehow save her.

The others were frozen in shock, and Steve seemed in no urgency to release Maddie.

But quickly enough, Maddie had had enough.

"ROGERS!" She roared shoving at the captain, who moved away reluctantly. Maddie opened her mouth to begin to berate him, but paused at the sight of tears in his eyes.

"Did something happen with the guys in that corridor?" She asked, slowly. Worridly.

Steve shook his head. Then he turned to Sam.

"We have a lead," He told Sam, voice low. A bright grin broke out on his face. "It's been months, and Bucky's been in the wind, but one of those guys used to work with Hydra and had seen him recently, and if I hadn't had the chance to interrogate him, we woudn't have a lead on Bucky."

"But we do?" Sam asked, trying to clarify. "We have a lead?"

Steve's grin brightened. "We have a great lead." He turned to Maddie and shot her a grateful smile. "And if you hadn't told me to go down that corridor, we would've had nothing. I don't know how you knew…but thank you!" And with one more smile in Maddie's direction, Steve and Sam exited, talking excitedly.

Maddie shook her head disbelievingly.

"I cannot believe this!" She threw up her hands and stormed out the room.

Her evil plan had failed. She was supposed to get FIRED, not…hugged! Worse…now Steve thought they were friends!

It was fine. Maddie had lots more plans where that came from.

Hopefully they would be more successful than the last one had though.

 _7\. Relay wrong/bad instructions_

* * *

"And another thing!" Maddie burst into the conference room that Steve and Sam were occupying. Steve and Sam shared a look and then turned back to Maddie.

She crossed her arms.

"Who the hell is Bucky?"

* * *

 **Heh.**

 **Sometimes I forget that Maddie hasn't seen the movies, so she doesn't know anything. Then I do remember...and it makes me giggle.**

 **More evil plans in the works!**

 **P.S. Awkward Steve hugs? #Gross**

 **~CLC~**


	6. Hacked

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Hey!" Maddie entered the nearly deserted tech lab, eyes narrowed. "I don't know you." She pulled a hand out of the pocket of the gray hoodie she wore to point at the tall young man seated at the main computer screen.

The man's eyes widened behind his glasses. "I'm…Conner. Hayes. Conner Hayes. I work tech support."

Maddie pursed her lips. "Oh. Okay." She joined the man in front of the computer screen.

Conner watched her for a moment. "Do…do you need something?" He asked slowly.

Maddie shrugged, both hands returning to the pocket on the front of her hoodie. "Nah. I'm just hiding from Captain Butthole."

Connor smiled, and Maddie's shoulder's relaxed. She leaned forward, a smile of her own growing. "The guy's trying to practice my "magical powers." Maddie rolled her eyes. "He thinks I need to develop my "special skills" further."

Conner Hayes tilted his head. "You don't think you need more practice?"

"America's golden turd thinks I spend my free time stuffing my face and watching Netflix." Maddie shrugged. "Totally accurate, for the most part. But I can be productive sometimes…when no one's watching."

"So," Conner turned away from the computer. "You've got control of your powers?"

"Well," Maddie removed her hands and held them out in front of her, examining them critically. "You tell me."

And suddenly, Maddie disappeared. Conner spun around in shock.

"Full integration." Maddie's voice came right from behind the blonde, and he turned quickly. Maddie stood behind him, grinning. "I can become nothing but air, particles so small they can't be seen, and even better? I can use that as a form of travel."

"So it's like…apparating?" Conner said after a moment. Maddie tilted a head. "A nerd." She nodded approvingly. "I like you. Yes, it's like apparating. Think I need more practice?" She raised an eyebrow, and Conner shook his head quickly.

"I think you're awesome." He said truthfully, and Maddie smiled. "Don't broadcast that," She warned, "I don't want the others getting jealous." Conner smiled, and Maddie moved to sit back down at the computer.

"So." Maddie changed the subject. "What do you do as "Tech support?"

"Uh…" Conner sat back down as well. "I make sure all of the systems that run themselves are functioning correctly. I deal specifically with the buildings systems; with so much electricity running in and out, certain systems like to short sometimes."

Maddie tilted her head. "Like the fire alarms all going off at the same time last week?"

"Exactly." Conner nodded. "The system that keeps the fire alarms functioning properly had a short, causing the alarms to blare without just cause. I reset the system and shut them off."

Maddie began to smile. "So, would the sprinkler's run on the same system?"

"It's a correlating system, separate but similar." Conner corrected.

"But you have access to that system?" Maddie pressed. Conner nodded slowly.

Maddie's smile widened, and Conner gulped.

* * *

When the sprinkler system went off at two am the next week, everyone was furious and demanding to know who the culprit was. Right when Maddie was going to reveal herself, an angry Avengers employee entered the room.

He caught everyone's attention, not because he was dripping wet, everyone was soaked at that point. No, he caught everyone's attention because his white shirt now stuck to his body like a second skin and revealed a tattoo on the mans chest.

A tattoo of the Hydra symbol.

A search of the facility showed six other men with the same tattoo.

They were admitting their double agency in less than an hour, and the sprinkler culprit became a hero.

Maddie let Conner take the credit, and he got promoted.

And Maddie? Maddie didn't get fired….again.

 _#2: Set off the Sprinkler systems_

* * *

"I should've expected this." Steve shook his head. He wasn't mad at Maddie's decision to skip training without telling him. Maddie had been unaccountably furious the last few days. Steve should've known that she was going to act out at some point. He should've been more prepared.

"Maddie." Steve knocked on Maddie's bedroom door for the fourth time. "I know you're in there, and I'm not leaving until I get an answer!"

Maddie's door opened suddenly, and Steve took a step back in surprise.

"42." Maddie leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "Is that the answer you were looking for?"

Steve shook his head. "No Maddie. I want to know what made you think that it would be okay to just not show up for training?"

"Well," Maddie scratched her head. "When I made to decision to skip, I wasn't really thinking at all."

"Exactly." Steve shook his head again. "You weren't thinking. I want you to take a minute now to think: think about the decision you've made, and the consequences."

Maddie sighed heavily, but she dutifully tilted her head and raised her eyes to the ceiling.

Steve watched, waiting for Maddie to realize where it was that she'd gone wrong.

Instead, Steve watched as Maddie's eyes widened and she went suddenly pale. A hand raised to press against her stomach, and then suddenly Maddie was leaning forward, her hands going to her knees as she vigorously threw up the contents of her breakfast…all over the floor.

Steve jumped back just in time, his shoes narrowly avoiding the mess.

Maddie heaved, still leaning over, and heaved again. But it seemed that now her stomach was empty. Maddie wiped a hand across her mouth, standing slowly. She made eye contact, then held up a finger. Steve waited as she moved back into her room and returned a moment later with a large stack of paper towels.

She gently covered the mess she'd made with the paper towels, then looked back up to Steve.

"What?" She asked dumbly.

Steve shook his head. In less than five minutes Maddie had been deposited back in her bed, a glass of water sat on her nightstand, Steve had thoroughly cleaned up the mess Maddie had made and then just covered up, and Steve was sitting at Maddie's bedside, watching as Maddie fought sleep…and lost.

The last thing Maddie heard was Steve's soft voice.

"You're not in trouble…you were sick. It's not skipping practice if you're sick."

Maddie would've growled if she hadn't already been half-asleep.

She WASN'T sick, she'd been fine the whole day! She just must've eaten something that disagreed with her…but of course it was her luck that Steve would see her get sick and then give her a break on skipping practice, instead of firing her, like he had been supposed to do!

Maddie's dreams consisted of her getting sick again…but in her dreams, she didn't miss Steve's shoes.

So despite the fact that she woke up and she wasn't fired, she wasn't as angry as she could've been.

The look on Steve's face in her dream had been PRICELESS.

Besides…She still had more items on her list.

 _#12: Skip Training_

* * *

"Being a security guard sucks."

Maddie shot the security guard she was currently job shadowing a smile. "No offense." She added.

The guard, who's name was Jimmy, and who had a really awesome thick beard and mustache, just rolled his eyes and stood.

"I'm going to run to the kitchens," he announced. "You wanna come?"

"Nah." Maddie raised a finger. "But can you bring me the fruit that's in the fridge? There's a lot of fruit…and I want all of it." Jimmy chuckled, but nodded in agreement.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back." Maddie waved the man off, and quickly switched chairs.

Jimmy had a rolly chair. Maddie's wasn't a rolly chair…so now Jimmy's chair was Maddie's chair.

Maddie twirled in her new chair, scanning the surveillance videos every time she was in that direction.

A beeping through her ear piece though, had her pausing to scan the screens more thoroughly.

"Sinclair? This is Wilson, I've just been alerted about a security breach. Location?"

Maddie's eyes narrowed as she concentrated. "I've got nothing on the feeds…" Maddie's voice trailed off as she caught sudden movement on one of the exterior cameras. She rolled to one of the computers and began to tap in one of the codes that Conner taught her.

"Sinclair?" Sam spoke through the comms again. "Are you sure?"

Maddie straightened as the facial recognition software she'd pulled up had done it's job and given her a name, and she grinned as she read the security breaches rap sheet. "Positive, Wilson." She assured. "It's a false alarm. At ease."

"Wonderful. I'm in the middle of a soufflé, and these things can be tricky." Maddie made a face, waiting for the beep that meant Wilson had disconnected, and Maddie pressed a few more buttons before pressing a hand to her ear.

"Before you do anything else, Scott Lang, currently in possession of tech that makes you nearly small enough to be undetectable, you should be aware that I have your exact location and three marksmen headed in your direction, and if you don't tell me why you're here and what you want within the next ten seconds, I will shoot your tiny body out of the air."

Maddie counted slowly in her head. At 8, she heard a heavy sigh.

"Alright, , well, Hi. I'm here to break into the facility and steal some very advanced weaponry, for reasons that I refuse to tell you, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would just…let me break in and steal this thing."

Maddie was silent for a moment. "You're kidding…right?"

"Would it help if I said that I'd bring it back? Well, maybe bring it back."

Maddie's day was looking up. "In that case," she said smoothly, turning to the facilities control board. Maddie heard Scott curse softly under his breath, "In 800 feet there is a vent I'm sure you'll be able to fit through. Take a right, left, right, left, left, and then exit through the vent that will be directly below you. You'll find yourself in the weapons room." Maddie smiled. "Help yourself." She flipped through the security guidelines Jimmy had left for her to look through. "In approximately six minutes Security will be rotating, leaving the locker room, located right outside the weapons room and two doors down on the right, empty. I'm sure a smart guy like you could find a way to go normal size long enough to steal a uniform, make your way to the garage, which is three doors to your LEFT, borrow a vehicle, and drive right out."

Scott Lang was silent for a long moment. "Is this a trap?" He finally asked.

Maddie smiled. "I guess you'll find out."

Approximately eight minutes later Maddie approved an "Agent Lang," use of a vehicle, and watched with glee as the man drove away, relatively unscathed.

"Here's your fruit." Maddie quickly cleared the screens in front of her and smiled at Jimmy, who just rolled his eyes and took the no-spinning chair. "Anything eventful happen while I was gone?" He asked.

Maddie smiled, but shook her head.

She'd blow the whistle on herself when whatever it was that criminal Scott Lang had wanted with Avengers tech made it on the news.

* * *

The attack made the news three days later. Steve knew right away what weapon had been used to decimate an entire building, and also that it should've been safely hidden away in the facility.

Steve had been furious about the security breach, but no one knew how the bad guys could've gotten their hands on it.

Maddie would've gladly told them if they'd asked her…but she hadn't been feeling well and had gone to bed early.

She WAS there when Scott Lang himself had returned the weapon, apologizing profusely and ready to face the consequences. But by then Steve had heard the real story, and had shrugged.

"Whoever let you in must've seen in you what I also see in you…A good man." Steve had said. Steve had then chosen to invite Scott to join the Avengers Initiative, and given whoever it was that had let someone break into the facility a free pass.

Maddie didn't bother identifying herself.

She'd been trying to let a bad guy in…and instead she'd let a hero in.

Her luck couldn't be THIS bad…could it?

Maddie was only reassured when he was reminded that her list wasn't completed YET. There was still time.

 _#9: Help someone infiltrate the base_

* * *

 **Things are just not going Maddie's way. But hey! Scott! And vomit! Yaay.**

 **~CLC~**


	7. Fight Me

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Maddie! Phone!"

"Tell whoever it is that I'm dead!"

"Maddie." Rhodey shot Maddie, who was under the table that housed their computer system, messing with the wires, a look. "Come get the damn phone."

Maddie pulled herself out from under the table with a grimace. "Touchy," she muttered, reaching for the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Jake, from state farm?"

Maddie snorted. "No, numb nuts, this is Patrick."

"Ugh." The voice on the other end made a sound of disgust. "I hate that show."

"And I hate commercials." Maddie added. "So suck it." She smiled when the voice laughed. "What do you want, Barton?"

"Just checking in." Clint said smoothly. "How's being an Avenger?"

"It sucks." She responded quickly. "Captain jerkface actually makes me do WORK here."

"Oh, what a hardship." Clint teased. "Be serious for a second. How are things?"

"Not as bad as they could be," Maddie said after a moment, shooting Rhodey a glare when she caught him listening in. "I've got some pretty evil plans in the works, so that's fun, at least."

"Mads," Clint sighed. "You're causing trouble?"

"Did you expect anything less?" Maddie retorted. "Besides, it's fine. Nobody's died yet."

"Yet?"

A loud roar echoed throughout the base, and Maddie grinned.

"Maybe you spoke too soon," Clint said after a moment.

"I'll call you back," She promised, pressing the end button and hurrying towards the sound of the scream. Rhodey followed closely behind her.

* * *

Steve was the source of the roar, and he stood speechless in the center of the common room. The rest of the team stood around him, equally speechless, staring in shock at Steve's shield.

The Shield that was currently on fire, and turning to ash right there in Steve's hand.

"Flame on!" Maddie said after a moment, voice serious.

Steve shot Maddie a lethal glare, and she shrugged innocently.

"Do you know how difficult it is to find this metal?" Steve spoke darkly. Maddie shrugged again.

"It's from some foreign country right?" She said. "Go make some new friends or something."

Steve's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth…hopefully to fire Maddie, but then he paused. His head tilted to the right as he thought, and then he grinned.

"I'll be back," he said after a moment. Then he disappeared.

Maddie made a face. "It wasn't a serious suggestion!" She called out, even though she knew Steve couldn't hear her. "It was a sarcastic comment meant to piss you off."

"Fail." Pietro said.

Maddie shot him a glare.

And Sam and Rhodey burst out laughing.

 _#3: Set something on Fire_

* * *

Steve came home three days later with a new shield and a new friend, and Maddie didn't get fired.

It was three days before she could try again.

"Captain, you're going to need to take a left in three feet, you've got bogey's on your tail."

"Got it."

"Falcon, Widow, get to the roof. You'll have the advantage and these guys are all scrambling on the ground."

"On our way up."

"Machine, hit the left staircase, wait, Cap, backtrack, NOW!" Maddie whirled in her chair, eyes widening. "You've got bogey's on every side." Maddie whirled around, muttering to herself. "Where did you come from?"

Maddie turned again, eyes racing as she aimed to keep sight of all of her people.

"Falcon, Widow, abort roof. The bogey's have swarmed. Take the service elevator to the fifth floor, then the fire escape down to the ground." Maddie whirled towards another screen, groaning. "Rhodey, get out of the service stairs, you're going to get trapped. Vision, please tell me you've got good visual."

"Negative." Vision shook his head.

Well, that was unfortunate. How else were the Avengers supposed to get out in one piece after Maddie cut the Comms? Too late to backtrack, the comms were set to deactivate in three, two, one…

Maddie watched the screens as her teammates put a hand to their ears, speaking urgently. Maddie couldn't hear anything anyone was saying, and knew if she spoke, they wouldn't hear her either. That part wasn't strange.

The part that was strange was when the people her team was fighting also paused, as if the only reason they could anticipate the Avengers reactions were because they'd…Maddie paused as the thought hit her...as if they'd hacked into the communications system. The system that Maddie had just shut down to give her team a disadvantage…when in fact she'd just given her team the advantage BACK.

Maddie hated her life sometimes.

* * *

"Maddie, I don't know how you knew, but that was awesome!" Sam held up a hand, and Maddie grumpily high fived him. "Once those idiots didn't have a direct feed to our battle plans, it was like fighting kindergartners!"

"Yeah, whatever." Maddie grumbled, turning slowly in her chair.

"How'd you know?" Rhodey asked, curious.

"I didn't." Maddie grumbled once more.

Steve clapped Maddie on the shoulder. "Well." He said after a moment. "Good instincts."

"Suck it." Madddie pushed her feet hard against the floor, her chair rolling away from Steve.

Steve raised an eyebrow. Then he rolled his eyes. "Alright Sinclair. You're level of maturity continues to astound us all, but that kind of talk is unnecessary." When the rest of the team turned away though, Steve shot Maddie a wink. She growled and stomped out of the room.

Sometimes Maddie REALLY hated her life.

 _#11: Mess with the Comms mid-mission_

* * *

"Alright." Steve ran a hand through his hair, damp with sweat. "Last thing before I let you all go." The group in front of him groaned, tired and sweaty and ready for their training session to end. Maddie lay face down on the ground, her body not even twitching.

She probably wasn't dead, Steve reasoned, so he continued addressing the team.

"Anyone up for a one on one against me? Winner runs the next training session."

The team perked up at the news, but Maddie jumped up like someone had just set her butt on fire.

"I will take you down." She threatened, energy renewed as if she'd just taken a boatload of drugs.

Steve leaned back, surprised, but then he'd smiled.

He hadn't fought Maddie one on one before…it was sure to be interesting.

He'd try not to beat Maddie too quickly.

* * *

Maddie flipped Steve onto his back, sat on his chest, and pressed two fingers to his throat.

"Boom!" Maddie crowed. "I've just taken all of the oxygen in her body and solidified the air around you so you can't get anymore. Dead."

Maddie jumped off of him, flipped his body too quickly for him to react, and then placed one hand on the top of his head and the other under his chin.

"Just snapped your neck." She reported. "Dead."

She let Steve go and gave him the chance to rise, then she rushed him. "Stab, Stab!" She narrated as she shoved a fake knife into his stomach a few times, then leapt so she was on his back piggyback style. She slid a finger across his throat.

"Slit your throat, dead."

She hopped off his back and paused, hands on her hips and breathing heavily. Steve was frozen, staring at her in shock.

"Shall I continue?" She smiled, and after a moment, Steve shook his head in defeat.

The team, seated at the edge of the mat, stood and cheered loudly.

"I wasn't aware you could fight like that." Tasha crossed her arms, bemused.

"You've never fought like that in training before," Pietro accused. "Why are you holding out on us?"

"I don't fight seriously unless I'm provoked," Maddie explained with a shrug. "Or it's worth it." She turned to Steve, who raised his hands.

"Tuesday, you're in charge," he promised. "Now…I'm going to go hide in my room in shame." Despite his words, he smiled proudly and limped out of the room.

The rest of the team cheered loudly, and Maddie bowed.

She was that awesome, wasn't she?

It didn't hit her until later that Steve wasn't supposed to have been proud…he was supposed to have been embarrassed!

Maddie still wasn't fired…but at least she'd gotten to humiliate Steve.

That was a plus.

 _#1: Beat Steve in a fight_

* * *

 **Maddie just doesn't want to seem to give up...and she's got mad skills! And a lotta hate for Steve...**

 **UGH I love it. The best is yet to come...**

 **~CLC~**


	8. Instinct

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"I'm surprised."

"Surprised?" Maddie shot Tasha a smile.

The two women walked along the crowded new York street, both in civilian clothes, Maddie in ripped jean capri's and a light gray hoodie, Tasha in dark wash jeans and a brown leather jacket.

"I never thought you'd want to have coffee with me." Tasha raised an eyebrow. "We're coworkers, yes, but hardly friends."

"Oh." Maddie furrowed her brow. "Is that what you think is happening?"

Tasha frowned. "We're not having coffee?"

Maddie smothered a grin. "WE'RE not." She agreed. "But you are having coffee."

Tasha crossed her arms and she stopped walking. Maddie paused next to her, blinking innocently.

"And who am I having coffee with?" Tasha pressed.

Maddie smiled and walked a few steps to the left. She pointed into the coffee shop. "You see that tall, thin, nerdy guy in the corner? That's one of Connor's new co-workers. He's a really nice, nerdy guy." Maddie smiled innocently. "I thought you guys would hit it off."

"You…" Tasha blinked slowly. "You set me up on a blind date?"

Maddie smiled evilly, and Tasha couldn't help herself. She laughed in disbelief.

"I know I'm out of bounds." Maddie said earnestly. "So if you feel like you need to fire me, I totally get it."

That's when Tasha figured it out. And Maddie, though she was good, wasn't as good as Tasha. Tasha had spent weeks undercover as the girlfriend of some of the most vile men in existence. An hour with a yes, kind of cute, nerdy guy was an easy price to pay to wipe the smirk off Maddie's face.

"Nah." Tasha shook her head. "It'll be fine."

Maddie's smile dropped off her face as Tasha opened the door to the coffee shop and made her way over to the young man seated in the far corner.

"Hi." Tasha smiled charmingly. "I'm Natasha." The young man blushed upon catching sight of her, but he stood and held out his hand nonetheless.

Yeah, okay, he was kind of cute.

"Reid. Uh, Spencer." The man was flustered.

"Reid, Spencer," Tasha repeated bemused.

"Spencer," The man tried again. "I'm…Spencer." He finished lamely.

"Spencer." Tasha nodded and took a seat. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Spencer nodded slowly and took a seat. He didn't seem to know what to say next, so Tasha asked him what he did for a living.

It took a few minutes, but Reid, Spencer, quickly warmed up and Tasha found that her enforced hour turned into two, and then into three.

Reid Spencer was brilliant. And kind of cute. And he had an honest goodness about himself that Tasha hadn't seen in someone in a long time. And when she'd asked him how he maintained that goodness in the face of all the evil he'd seen, his answer surprised her.

"The darkness is all-consuming." He admitted slowly. "The things I've seen and faced, it's horrible and it takes a piece of you, and if you see too much of it too often, you find that you lose more of yourself than you save of others. There's no completely coming back from that. The darkness never leaves you. But if you're strong enough, you don't let the darkness win. You find enough of the light to contradict your dark, and you never let the darkness consume. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it takes control. But as long as you always come back, the darkness can never claim you. You are still in charge of you."

Tasha found Reid Spencer to be fascinating, and when she agreed to seeing a russian opera with the cute, nerdy Spencer Reid, it wasn't to make sure that Maddie didn't win. It was because Tasha honestly wanted to go. She really did want to spend time with Reid.

And wasn't that just the weirdest thing.

* * *

Maddie was fuming as the two women walked home. Her nose was scrunched up and she breathed heavily.

But then, about ten minutes from their car, Maddie had wilted.

"You really liked him then?" Maddie asked. "It wasn't some ploy to get one over on me? It wasn't some twisted form of revenge?" Tasha shook her head.

"At first, yes." She admitted. "But…he's a good man. He's…different than anyone else I've ever spent time with."

"And that's a good thing?" Maddie asked skeptically. Tasha thought for a moment, then she nodded.

"I think it might be." She said lightly, and Maddie sighed.

"I guess I'm happy for you," She finally said grumpily, and Tasha smirked.

She was kind of happy for herself too. She wrapped an arm around Maddie's shoulder.

"And now," She began dramatically, "I'll have to return the favor."

"You're going to try and set me up?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

Tasha nodded, and thought. Then she shot Maddie an evil smile.

"Steve's single," She teased.

Maddie laughed in disbelief, then her nose scrunched up and she ran towards a nearby garbage can, retching loudly.

Tasha stood there, stunned at the visceral reaction. After a few moments, Maddie returned, a sheepish smile on her face.

"The thought of being with Steve is really that disgusting?" Tasha asked, bemused.

Maddies eyes widened. "...Yes?" She said after a moment. Then she nodded. "Yep. That's totally it."

Tasha rolled her eyes, and the two women contiued walking.

"So Steve is out," Tasha tilted her head. "But what about,"

"No!" Maddie laughed, shoving as Tasha persisted. "Okay, but there's always,"

"No!"

And Maddie and Tasha returned to the base as more than just coworkers...as friends.

 _#5: Set Tasha up on a blind date_

* * *

Maddie was hiding in the woods from everyone when she found a guy bleeding on the floor of the forest.

He looked like crap, there was blood everywhere, and the man was muttering in some weird language.

The man looked too skinny for eating, so she'd called Conner and half dragged half carried the man to the edge of the forest.

Conner had sighed heavily when he'd arrived to find Maddie with a half dead guy.

"You couldn't have just taken him to the base?" He'd chastised.

Maddie had scoffed. "I don't know where he's been." She argued. Conner had just rolled his eyes, loaded the man into his back seat, and drove Maddie and the half-dead man to his apartment.

Maddie called Tasha and told her she was having friend time with Conner and that she would be back in a few days. Tasha had argued then relented, then had promised not to tell Steve.

Maddie nursed the guy back to life and then, when the man was conscious for the first time, interrogated him on his whole life story.

The guy had been honest. And Maddie had smiled and been just as honest as the guy had.

When the man was finally healed, he left armed with enough information to take out The Avengers, the world, and maybe a lot of other things too.

But Maddie trusted the guy. She shared vital information with him because he would never tell anyone else or do anything with the information.

Loki Laufeyson would never do anything like that.

* * *

Unfortunately for Maddie…he didn't.

How was Maddie supposed to know that the legendary angry crazy guy who tried to take over the world had randomly decided to become really nice now?

She thought for sure that he appeared in the middle of the Avengers Game Night in order to kill them all.

He was only there to give Steve information that meant a war between all the nine realms and thanos could be almost entirely avoided.

He even apologized.

What kind of evil criminal was that?

Loki thanked Maddie for saving his life, and explained that this was him returning the favor.

Steve had been oddly relieved that Maddie's reason for staying at Connor's for three days was a half-dead ex-evil villian and not for any other reason.

Maddie had no idea what those other reasons could be, and she didn't ask.

She was too mad.

Because…She STILL wasn't fired.

What a waste of three days.

 _#14: Give an enemy vital information_

* * *

Turning Pietro's alarm clock off was less a tactic to get fired and more for revenge.

Every time Maddie failed at getting fired, Pietro would make fun of her and tease her mercilessly.

Maddie was tired of it.

So, the night before a big mission, she turned his alarm off.

Which totally WASN'T a childish move…it was an evil move.

Pietro would get in trouble for sure.

Except that particular mission had gone wrong and the avengers had been captured, and they would've all been killed if Pietro hadn't been available to sneak in from behind and take out the villians, saving the Avengers in the process.

And then Pietro had the BALLS to inform Steve that Maddie had told him she had a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong, and that Pietro should stand by, just in case.

Maddie had received a light chastisement for going against Steve's order, and then a lot of praise for trusting her instincts.

Maddie slowly began plotting Pietro's death.

And Pietro just laughed at her.

 _#10: Turn off someone's alarm_

* * *

 **I'm a crazy big criminal minds fan so...I couldn't help myself. Reid is my favorite!**

 **Maddie is a donkey on the edge, and she could've died with the Tasha prank! But she...didn't?**

 **More to come. And it gets a little bit feels-filled from here on out, sorry guys, (or not sorry?)**

 **~CLC~**


	9. Bars

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

Maddie didn't feel bad.

She couldn't! She didn't have feelings…

She was only going to bail Steve out of jail because he had asked nicely.

Well actually, she was only coming to bail him out because he had sounded furious on the phone.

She'd answered, thinking it was Clint, who called every few days like clockwork, to hear the deep voice hiss…

"You did this."

Maddie had to smother a smile.

"Did what? Who is this?" She feigned confusion.

The voice on the other end growled.

"I don't know how you did this," Steve Rogers hissed. "But you fix it. RIGHT NOW."

"Steve?" Maddie's voice was a mixture of worry and laughter. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Sinclair." Steve spat. "I MEAN IT."

"Do you need me to get Tasha?" Maddie continued. "She's just around the corner, let me,"

"MADISON SINCLAIR YOU GET DOWN HERE AND PAY MY BAIL AND IF YOU SO MUCH AS WHISPER A WORD OF THIS TO ANYONE…"

"You'll fire me?" Maddie finished dryly.

Steve growled.

"I'll make sure you never leave base again." He threatened, and Maddie paled.

"Give me twenty minutes." She barked, hanging up the phone with a snarl.

* * *

On her way there, Maddie thought it over. Steve wouldn't keep her trapped on the base. He couldn't.

He didn't really have that kind of authority anyway.

But he COULD make her life miserable. And maybe on the way back he'd get so upset he'd fire her, even if he'd already said that he wouldn't. So she'd spoken with the nice policemen who'd escorted her to the back, where Steve sat on a metal bench, arms crossed and eyes glaring holes in the wall. They switched to attempt to glare holes into MADDIE when she'd appeared, but Maddie wasn't impressed.

"Stealing?" Maddie shook her head slowly. "That's beneath you."

Steve just growled.

"Guy's a bit touched in the head," The officer spoke up. "Seems to think he's Captain America or something." The officer chuckled. "Everyone knows the Captain is much taller.

Maddie nodded in agreement, doing her best to hide her smile. She failed.

"Well, I'll just take my friend now." She spoke up. "I promise, he'll get the help he needs," She added.

Steve said nothing as he was freed from his cell, and stood silently at Maddie's side as she cleared him to leave. Only when they reached the sidewalk did he snarl at her.

"What kind of stupid harebrained idea was that?" He spat out. "You think you're invincible? You think you can do whatever you want and there won't be consequences? You think I can keep covering for you all the time?"

"Wait, what?" Maddie whirled on Steve. "What the hell? COVERING for me?"

"You know, with all your," Steve waved his hands around, "Schemes! I mean, for the most part, you're doing good things, but the risks involved! Something seriously bad could happen! Someone could get hurt, and I wouldn't be able to protect you!"

"The hell?" Maddie poked Steve hard in the chest. "First of all, I know EXACTLY what I'm doing, and I WANT to be punished! I want the consequences, PLEASE," Maddie stressed, "PLEASE fire me! I'm not pulling these pranks for fun, I'm doing what I have to in order to get out of here!"

Steve was silent for a long moment. "Maddie." He shook his head. "I thought you were getting over this."

"Over WHAT, Steve?" Maddie barked.

"Over this infatuation with a normal life." Steve shook his head. "It's not in the cards for you Mads. You've gotta realize that."

Maddie stared at Steve without blinking.

"You're wrong." She finally said. "It's not in the cards for YOU."

Steve took a step back.

"You're path has already been decided, and you've accepted that. You know what you want, and what you can have. But I'm not YOU, Steve. I'm a blank slate, no one knows who I am and I can do whatever I want. I actually can have a normal life, but not if you keep me trapped at the base!"

"But," Steve shook his head. "You're amazing at what you do."

"Just because you're good at something doesn't mean it's your only option."

"You have fun though," Steve argued.

"Yeah, sure." Maddie shrugged. "But I'm no hero. I don't work well with others. And the biggest factor? I DON'T WANT TO."

Steve shook his head. "You belong at the base. You're an Avenger."

Maddie's eyes widened. "Did you…did you hear ANYTHING I just said?" She asked incredulously.

Steve scoffed. "Of course I did." And then he proceeded to stare blankly at her.

Maddie's shoulder's wilted. "You don't get it." She shook her head. "Why did I think you would get it?"

Steve waited as Maddie thought internally for a few moments.

"Fine." She said finally.

"Fine?" Steve repeated slowly.

"Fine." Maddie nodded. "I give up."

Steve raised an eyebrow. Maddie raised her hands. "If staying at the base is going to make everyone else happy, then fine."

"You're staying?" Steve asked, trying to follow Maddie's train of thought. Maddie shrugged.

"Why not?" She continued walking. "When has my life ever been about anything BUT making everyone else happy?"

Steve smiled. Maddie had finally accepted that she belonged with the Avengers. Steve should've been more thrilled…but something about the defeated way that Maddie had agreed to stay didn't feel…right.

Steve buried the feelings of unease and moved to wrap an arm around Maddie's shoulders. Maddie, who would've usually shrugged him off and punched him in the face, let it happen.

"I'm glad you're staying." He finally said.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." Then she DID shove him off and punch him in the arm. "But I'm finishing my list!"

And it would be fine. Maddie was still Maddie, Steve reassured himself.

"Wait." He found himself saying. "What list?"

 _#6: Get Steve arrested_

* * *

"So you're staying?"

"Yep."

"Huh."

Maddie shot Pietro a glare. "What?"

"I'm just…surprised." Pietro admitted, focusing on wrapping the ribs that Maddie had broken a few days prior, in her first mission. "I did not think that you would give up in your quest."

"I was never going to win that fight." Maddie said after a moment. "I was just wasting my time on an unwinnable mission."

Pietro paused in his wrapping to place a hand on Maddie's arm. "But is this what you want?" He said seriously.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "What do you care? You're thrilled I'm staying." Pietro's serious expression melted into an easy grin.

"Yes." He admitted freely. "But Wanda wanted that I ask."

Maddie huffed, and opened her mouth, but the door opened and Steve walked through, already dressed for the team's next mission.

"Pietro." Steve snapped. "Go help Sam and Rhodey."

Pietro shot Maddie a confused look, but when she just shrugged and nodded, stood and left the room. Steve moved forward and finished wrapping Maddie's ribs.

"You're an idiot." Maddie said after a moment.

Steve just shrugged. Once he'd finished wrapping, he smoothed Maddie's shirt down over the wrappings. "You ready?" He asked.

"Sure." Maddie took a step away. "It's not my first rodeo."

Steve opened his mouth. He'd not really spoken to her over the past two weeks, except to announce her clearance to go active on their missions and to inform the team that Maddie would be staying with them. But Maddie knew Steve had been itching to speak to her, and he'd apparently chosen that moment. He'd come in to say something serious, Maddie knew, but she wouldn't have it. She had two more things on her list, and she planned on getting them knocked out today.

"Come on, Cowboy," She called out over her shoulder as she left the room. "Let's get this party started."

* * *

"Hey. Can I get a Grande Caramel Machiatto, extra sweet? Thanks."

Maddie felt no remorse for skipping the mission. Since she'd decided to stay with the Avengers, she hadn't really felt…anything, to be honest. She paid for her drink and then moved to the side to wait for it, not really paying attention when a man moved to stand next to her.

"Nice weather we're having." The man spoke lowly.

"Yeah." Maddie chuckled. "It's the best weather day of the century."

The man next to her was silent for a moment. "Close enough," He intoned. Maddie's eyebrows furrowed, then the man was pushing her towards the door that led to the back room, and Maddie found her eyes adjusting to the dimly lit storage room, which housed a small round table that three older men sat at.

"How goes the attack?" The oldest man, a wrinkled ball of a person asked.

"Well." The man who'd led Maddie in answered. "The Avengers believe they are fighting with the leader of The Core. They know not that the bosses are safely hidden here."

"And of the bomb?" The wrinkled man turned to Maddie. "You have brought it with you?"

Maddie frowned. Then her eyes widened, and she threw up her hands, her fingers making a fake gun.

"Freeze!" She announced. "I'm the Wizard Cops!"

The strange men shared a look, and then they pulled out real guns.

They were only human, so it took less than a second to take care of them. Then Maddie was walking calmly from the back room and pulling her earpiece out of her pocket.

"Hey guys."

"Sinclair! Dammit, where are you?"

"At the coffee shop on 46th and Eastern. I've just taken out the main leaders of The Core, and I need some backup. A female unsub is bringing a bomb into the coffee shop any minute now, and she has plans to hand it over to The Core.

There was silence. Then a terse voice.

"We're on our way."

 _#8: Skip a Mission._

* * *

"Dammit Sinclair."

"What? We got the guy didn't we?"

"Yes, but this damn list is driving me insane!"

"It is getting a little old." Sam agreed with Steve.

"Well," Maddie crossed her arms. "It's done now."

The team shared a look of surprise. "It is?" Pietro asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Maddie shrugged. "There wasn't all that much on it to begin with so, it's done." Maddie looked away. "It's kind of moot now anyway, since I'm staying and all."

Tasha nodded in agreement. "I'm glad the crazy-ness is all over," She said lightly, and Maddie smirked. "Like you didn't get anything out of it," She teased.

"Shut your mouth." Tasha warned, though she smiled.

"C'mon guys. We'll celebrate the end of Maddie's reign of terror with food." Sam gestured to the kitchen. The team grinned and followed him.

Steve stayed where he was, arms crossed and glaring at Maddie.

"I'm still mad," he said needlessly. Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Stop being a baby." She demanded. "You got what you wanted."

Steve shook his head. "We got what WE wanted." He corrected. "We're together now, right?"

Maddie tilted her head. Steve's words held some underlining meaning that she couldn't identify. But Maddie found that she was too tired to really care.

"Sure." She finally said. "We're together now."

Steve nodded and grinned.

And Maddie just felt really, really tired.

Her list was done, she'd lost, and everyone else was happy.

Why couldn't she be happy about it?

"Okay." Sam yelled from the kitchen. "Who ate my leftovers?"

Maddie smiled.

Well…NOW the list was done. But what was Maddie Sinclair rebel turned hero, going to do now?

 _#4: Eat Sam's Leftovers_

* * *

 **Not TOO many feels, but more is coming!**

 **Maddie gave up her freedom for everyone else's happiness. That never goes well.**

 **Feels Ahoy!**

 **~CLC~**


	10. Barton

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

Something was wrong with Maddie. Everybody saw it...but they didn't know how to fix it.

Pietro tried to get Maddie to pull a few pranks, but Maddie wasn't really into it.

Sam and Rhodey tried to get Maddie to fight them during training, and she did, but it didn't make her smile like it used to.

Tasha told Maddie about her dates with Reid, and that did make her smile a bit, but not for long.

Wanda was the only one who got it. "Captive birds don't sing." She'd tried to explain, but the men just didn't get it.

Steve avoided Maddie at all costs.

He was happy she was there...but he didn't know how to fix Maddie.

She was tired all the time, she didn't smile as much, and she just wasn't herself.

She did her job perfectly, every time. In the off days, she was learning how to code, or taking notes from Cho and Selvig.

* * *

"What did you guys do?" Selvig barged into an Avengers meeting that Maddie had asked to be excused from earlier that day. She'd looked so exhausted that Steve had agreed immediately. He'd checked on her before the meeting had begun, running a hand softly down her cheek before sighing and leaving her to sleep in peace. "You broke her."

Selvig didn't need to elaborate; everyone knew who he was talking about. "It's Steve's fault." Pietro had blurt out. Steve shot him a dirty look, and Pietro shrugged unapologetically.

"She's just a little under the weather," Steve explained slowly.

Selvig snorted. "Bull. Try again."

"She's having a hard time adjusting to life on the base." Tasha spoke up.

"She was fine before," Cho appeared from behind Selvig, eyes narrowed.

"That was when she thought this was just a...temporary situation." Sam spoke up. He grimaced. "It's a little daunting."

Selvig and Cho shared a look, and they nodded sadly, exiting the room. Wanda shot Steve a glare, shaking her head.

* * *

Maddie was fine. Really. And she would tell anyone who asked that she was fine.

Except for Clint. Lying to Clint was a little harder for Maddie.

But she'd do her best.

"Hello?"

"Is this Jake from State Farm?"

"No." Maddie smiled reluctantly. "This is Patrick."

"Gross." Clint laughed. "So how's the evil overlord?"

"The evil overlord is tired," Maddie admitted. "But she's otherwise fine!" she added quickly.

Clint frowned on his end of the phone. "I think you're lying to me."

"I think you're lying to yourself." Maddie corrected. Then she laughed.

"Seriously." Clint spoke up, "What's going on?"

"You know how some days are good days and some days are bad days?" Maddie began.

"Yep." Clint agreed.

"It's been a long line of bad days." Maddie admitted. "But it's really fine!" She added quickly.

But Clint had already come to a decision.

"Uh huh, sure. Listen, brat, I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Oh." Maddie's eyes furrowed. "Uh, okay. Bye."

"Bye." And Clint quickly hung up. He had plans to make.

* * *

Clint was walking into the Avengers base less than 13 hours later.

"Long time no see, Barton!" Sam shook Clints hand. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"Just checking in." Clint shrugged.

"In other words, you were getting stir crazy and Laura kicked you out for a few days." Tasha rounded the corner as if sensing Clint's presence, crossing her arms.

"How do you always know?" Clint shook his head, and Tasha smirked.

"Because I know YOU." Tasha slapped Clint on the shoulder. "You look good."

"I'm feeling good. Being at home has been real therapeutic for me. I don't miss this place at all."

"So why are you here?" Pietro asked.

Clint shot Pietro a glare, then turned back to Tasha, eyebrow raised.

Tash sighed. "She's doing well, if you disregard the fact that she doesn't want to be here."

Clint crossed his arms. "She doesn't want to be here?"

"She tried to quit." Pietro spoke up. "The bosses wouldn't let her. She's been trying to get fired ever since."

"So…She's been causing chaos and being altogether mischevious, and you're letting her?"

Tasha shrugged, and Sam snorted. "She's not very good at causing trouble…every time she tries, it's always a positive outcome."

"Why stop something that's benefiting me?" Tasha shrugged.

Clint rolled his eyes. "Maybe because you're pretty much keeping a young woman who's been forcibly removed from her home captive in unfamiliar territory and keeping her from potentially pursuing a normal life?"

Pietro and Wanda shared a look, and Sam and Rhodey's eyes fell to the floor.

Tasha shook her head. "She's never going to have a chance at a normal life, not with everything that's already happened to her. At least when she's here she's living her crazy life and she's not alone."

Clint narrowed his eyes. Then he walked out of the room. Tasha followed.

"Barton's right." Sam said after a moment. "We're pretty much holding her hostage."

"But," Rhodey thought for a moment. "Nah. I got nothing."

"There's no way to spin this so we can feel like the bosses are doing the right thing?" Pietro asked.

Wanda scoffed and shook her head. Everyone turned to her, who for the most part had been silent.

"Free Will." She said after a moment. "That's what the captain has taken from Maddie. Maddie has no choice in her life in the past month that she's been allowed to make on her own. For someone as fiercely independent as Maddie, that's like a death sentence. Maddie needs to be free to make her own choices. And even as she mellows and grows comfortable in this new environment, she will never fully be happy because this was never fully her choice." Wanda stood and shot the men a glare. "I don't want Maddie to leave. I know you don't either. But I want her being here to be her choice. I don't agree with the captain and Romanoff's decision, and I can't believe that you all do either." Wanda swept from the room, leaving behind thoroughly chastened adult grown men.

"She's right." Pietro said after a moment.

"But we can't go against Steve's orders." Sam said after a moment.

"Even though Maddie does constantly?" Rhodey interjected skeptically.

"Not the point." Sam shook his head. "This thing has gone to far. It's between Maddie and Steve now…all we can do is watch and wait."

"And…" Pietro grinned. "Secretly take sides." He winked and followed after his sister.

Sam and Rhodey shook their heads.

There was that.

* * *

"This isn't your idea."

Once Clint had walked far away enough from the common room, he turned quickly to Tasha. "This is one of Steve's stupid "you don't know what you want but I do and I only want whats best for you so do what I say" kicks, and because you're his second you can't outwardly disagree with him, but you DO disagree with him."

Tasha shrugged. "Steve has some hidden agenda here," She admitted. "I'm not sure what it is. I may not agree with it, but I'll support him."

"And let Mads be miserable?" Clint huffed. "I'm not okay with that."

"Being at home has made you soft," Tasha teased. Clint just glared. "As her leaders," he argued, "you're supposed to put her welfare above your own sick twisted wants."

"And in a sick twisted way, that's what I'm doing." Tasha interrupted. When Clint opened his mouth to argue, she held up a hand. "Maddie's world before she came was tame. When she first got here she had no idea how to protect herself from the villians in our universe; she pretty much followed the worst of them home like a lost little puppy! Now; she knows who the good guys AND the bad guys are. She's able to protect herself and function and the adjustment period that could've been horrendous if we had just stuck her in a safe house and let her cope on her own has been much easier, because she HASN'T been alone."

"But after dealing with all of this, do you really think she'll be able to go back to a normal life?"

Tasha crossed her arms. "I don't know." She admitted. "But if anyone can live a normal life after this…it would be her."

Clint shook his head. The two were silent for a moment. And then Clint sighed. "If she's agreeable, I'm taking her back with me."

Tasha opened her mouth, but Clint continued. "It's the perfect transition. She can be normal but stick with someone who gets it, at least for a while. She won't be completely alone, but she'll have a fresh start."

"I can't agree to this," Tasha began, but Clint punched the wall angrily.

"I'm the only one who seems to care just about Maddie!" He spat angrily. "Steve's focused on the greater good while putting all his guilt and phobia on Maddie's shoulders, and you're just worried about your image and doing your job. I know that's who you are Tash, and I commend you for it, but for one second, put the job aside and just think about Maddie. She's not a soldier. She's not a superhero. She may be good at it, but it will crush her. She needs the space and opportunity to be herself, not a mini Steve, and not a mini you. If you don't give her that chance…it's going to kill her. This JOB is going to kill her."

Tasha pursed her lips. Then she shrugged. "If you can get Steve to agree to it." Was all she said, before disappearing.

Clint sighed and shook his head. But he knew Tasha, and he knew that was all he was going to get. So he would take it.

* * *

"Sinclair! There you are!" Steve pulled the chair out next to him, and after a long sigh, Maddie settled into it.

"Now can we eat?" Pietro called from the other end of the table. Steve nodded and the team quickly grabbed for the dish nearest them.

Maddie sat still, eyes wide.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Pasta." Steve rolled his eyes and slid half of the noodles on his plate onto hers.

"better Question." Maddie said after a moment. "Who made it?"

"That would be me." Clint appeared from the side door that connected the dining room and kitchen, and Maddie's face brightened. She pushed her chair back so hard it fell onto the ground with a clatter and circled the table as quickly as she could, throwing her arms around Clint's neck as soon as she could reach him.

Clint huffed as Maddie slammed into him, but he returned the hug just as tightly.

The hug only lasted a few moments, but for Maddie, that was a world record. She ignored the stunned faces at the table to lightly punch Clint's shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" She chastised. "You said nothing about coming to visit when we talked last night!"

"It was a spur of the moment decision," Clint explained. "Laura needed a break from me, and I wanted to see how you were doing."

"You punk." Maddie slapped his arm again, then pulled him to the table, to the empty chair that was next to hers. "You're here on some strange fishing expedition, and I am highly suspicious." She shook her head as she sat back down. "But I will pretend you're just here because you missed me too much."

"Whatever floats your boat." Clint shook his head, smiling at the silent table. Sam and Rhodey were stunned at Maddie's level of exuberance, and Pietro seemed shocked that someone actually liked Clint. Wanda smiled brightly, Maddie hadn't looked this happy in…ever. Tasha watched the scene unfold before her, head tilted. Maybe Clint hadn't been wrong, earlier.

Steve glowered, fist clenched tightly around his fork.

"I didn't realize you and Barton were so friendly." Steve said pointedly.

Maddie's excited demeaner diminished as she turned to Steve. Well," she began, "I did spend two weeks on his farm with him. I guess we got to know each other during that time. Maybe we became friends." Maddie's eyebrows narrowed. "Is it crazy that we keep in touch, seeing as he was the first person who treated me normally after I was drop-kicked to this crazy universe?"

Steve leaned back in his seat. "Of course not." He said after a moment.

"So…what?" Maddie leaned forward. "I'm just not allowed to have friends?"

"No." Steve shook his head. "I just didn't realize that Barton was the friend you'd been speaking with so much lately."

Maddie huffed. "Who else could it be? He's the only person I know in this entire planet outside of the people who never leave this stupid base!"

Maddie grimaced, annoyed at herself for the outburst, and turned quickly to her food. Steve looked to Tasha, who shrugged, then Steve looked to Clint. Clint's eyes widened meaningfully, then he nodded.

"Why don't you come home with me for a while?" He nudged Maddie's shoulder. Maddie shot Steve a look out of the corner of her eye. Steve opened his mouth to argue, but he paused at the murderous look in Clint's eye. He gaged the rest of the table, to find a lot of assessing stares and a dark look from Wanda. Then he shrugged.

"Maybe a week off would be a good idea," he relented. "You have been pretty sick lately. The fresh air might do you good."

Maddie slowly straightened. "So…that's a yes?" She asked suspiciously. Steve sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You have my permission," He said mockingly.

Maddie slowly smiled. "You're not going to throw a hissy fit later and change your mind?"

"When have I ever done that?" Steve argued. Sam snorted, though he muffled it by faking a cough. Steve glared, then sighed. "No…you can go." He pointed a finger at Clint. "Back by Monday," He ordered.

Clint nodded solemnly, then nudged Maddie again. "You're welcome."

"Shut it," Maddie ordered, but a smile grew on her face.

Tasha nodded approvingly in Steve's direction. Steve just grimaced.

* * *

 **Maddie's having trouble to adjusting to forever at the base, but Clint comes to save the day!**

 **Things will get better, then worse. Then...some revelations!**

 **~CLC~**


	11. Fired

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Steve!" Sam slowly walked into the training room, cautious.

Steve didn't seem to hear, so busy was he hitting the punching bag as hard as he could.

"Steve!" Sam said again, moving a little closer.

Steve still didn't seem to hear.

Finally, Sam just had to throw something at the man. Steve whirled around, eyes bright.

"What?" He snapped.

Steve had been in a mood since Maddie had left. He had been moody and angry and Maddie had only been gone for five days! Hopefully the phone call would help.

"Phone for you. It's from the Barton house."

And Steve, who had seemed so angry at being disturbed, snatched the phone from his hand.

"Hello?" He barked.

"Don't freak out, but Maddie's in the hospital."

It maybe hadn't been the best way to start the conversation. Steve had been ready to steal Stark's jet just to get to Maddie in time, but Clint had made Steve listen to the whole story.

"She passed out in the middle of the field. It's not a big deal. We just got to the hospital, they're looking her over now. It's most likely nothing serious, but I thought I'd let you know. DON'T COME HERE. Not until we know for sure what the problem is. DO YOU HEAR ME STEVE? DO NOT SHOW UP HERE."

Steve didn't listen. He was on a plane within 20 minutes.

* * *

Clint knew that Steve wouldn't wait. That's why he was standing outside the back doors of the hospital, where he knew Steve would try to sneak in. Just in case Steve was stupid enough to use the front doors, Laura was staked out there.

Clint really wished Steve had waited to hear the verdict. Of course, Steve would've shown up after he'd heard the diagnosis anyway, especially with the way he seemed so possessive and attached towards Maddie.

Steve appeared quickly, his long legs working double time, as if he couldn't get to Maddie fast enough.

Clint held out a hand to stop Steve from entering the doors, and Steve growled.

Growled.

"What's wrong with her?" He bit out.

Clint sighed. "Calm down first."

Steve growled again and moved to push Clint out of the way, but he held his ground.

"She's fine." He promised. "She was dehydrated, and along with all of the heavy duty work her body has been putting in, it just all got to be too much. But she's fine." Clint crossed his arms. "And I'm not letting you see her until you calm the hell down."

Steve took a few deep breaths. His fists clenched and unclenched a few times before finally relaxing. "She's okay?" He asked again.

Clint nodded. Steve wiped a hand across his face, then moved forward. Clint stopped him once more.

"What now?" Steve sighed.

"You seem awfully worried about Maddie for just being her boss." Clint said slowly. Steve's face slowly went red, and It was Clint's turn to clench his fists. "Unless?" He bit out.

Steve looked away. "It's not serious." He finally said.

"It sure as hell looks serious," Clint snapped. "What the hell, Steve?"

Steve shook his head. "It just happened." He said miserably. "And it only happened a few times. It didn't seem like that big of a deal, Maddie was superb at keeping things professional, and I did my best,"

"That doesn't seem like your style, Rogers." Clint said disapprovingly. Steve shrugged.

"It wasn't," He admitted. "I hated it. But by that point Maddie felt like the only person who understood what it felt like to be completely uprooted. I couldn't let her leave. Not when I knew what it felt like to be alone with that weight."

"You treated Maddie like you had wished someone had treated you." Clint shook his head. "Steve…she's not you."

Steve huffed a breath. "I know that."

Clint watched Steve for a few moments. "She's not coming back." He finally said.

Steve's eyes snapped to Clint's.

"It's time to stop thinking about yourself, Rogers. The base isn't for Mads, and it never has been. She needs something else, and the base, YOU, can't give it to her. She's not going back, and if you try to make her….I will end you."

Steve's eyes were wide. He neither agreed nor disagreed. But his shoulders slumped, and Clint finally stepped aside.

* * *

Maddie was standing by the window of her hospital room, fully clothed and arms wrapped around herself.

Steve paused in the doorway, observing her.

Maddie looked tired. Hospitals did that to a person. But Maddie also looked better than she had the last few weeks at the base. Her eyes were brighter and her posture wasn't so defeated. Her skin glowed in a way that meant she'd been outside, and a lot. And she was smiling.

Steve had planned to whisk her back to base, regardless of everything that Clint had said. The Avengers needed Maddie, STEVE needed Maddie, but Steve did as Clint had demanded, and as Tasha had been urging him to do for the last five days.

He put Maddie first.

Maddie turned, feeling the eyes on her. Her smile faltered at the sight of Steve.

"Clint called you," She guessed. Steve nodded. Maddie sighed and rolled her eyes, moving to take a seat on the edge of the hospital bed.

"I'm fine," She promised. "I'm not dying or anything."

"Clint said something about dehydration," Steve stepped into the room. "Said you'd be up and causing mayhem in no time."

Maddie smirked and shrugged. "What can I say?" She teased. "I'm a fighter."

Steve smiled, then paused. Maddie shifted slightly on the bed, but did nothing to break the silence.

Finally Steve huffed. "And has your vacation been relaxing?" He asked lightly. Maddie's eyes brightened.

"Anything but," She laughed. "Clint roped me into helping design the maze for Halloween this year. Designing a maze is a lot harder than one would think," Maddie pointed a finger at Steve when he smirked. "We've been debating on designs, still haven't decided on one." Maddie's smile wavered. "Guess we'll have to finalize everything over the phone."

Steve grimaced. "Maddie," He began slowly. "What do you want?"

Maddie's eyebrows furrowed, and Steve moved closer so he was standing right in front of her, as close as he could get without touching her.

"If I had a choice?" She clarified. Steve internally winced, but nodded.

"It's going to sound stupid lame," Maddie warned. Steve shrugged.

"Doesn't matter." He promised. Maddie thought for a moment.

"Writing. I prefer to use words to cut people down, not weapons." Maddie confided. "Some small dinky apartment that's all my own, maybe a tiny vicious dog that I can use to threaten strangers with. A tiny corner of my apartment that I call "the office," which is where I draft plans for world domination." Maddie smirked, then frowned.

"But I mean, that's all awkward pipe dreams. What person has ever gotten everything they wanted?"

Steve shrugged. "It IS rare," he admitted. "But if anyone deserves a chance to pursue their dreams…it's you." Maddie narrowed her eyes, and Steve took a deep breath. Then he made eye contact with Maddie.

"You're fired." He said simply.

Maddie sat frozen for a long moment.

"Seriously?" She asked lightly.

Steve crinkled his nose. "No." Then he shook his head. "I mean…yes. You're fired, do whatever you want."

"I don't have to go back?" Maddie questioned. Steve shook his head.

"You can go wherever you want." His throat felt suspiciously tight, but he ignored it for the slow smile that was growing on Maddie's face.

"I could stay here if I wanted?"

Steve nodded, unable to say any more. Maddie laughed.

"This isn't a joke?" She asked again.

Steve sighed. "If you keep asking, I'm going to change my mind," he warned and Maddie quickly raised her hands in surrender.

"Steve…" Maddie searched for words, but when none came, she simply stood and wrapped her arms around Steve's waist. Steve quickly pulled her close, only letting her go when her arms relaxed and she made to step back.

"You can come back anytime." He promised. "To visit, or if you just need a day of crazy spy stuff, or, for anything." Maddie nodded, eyes bright.

"Okay." Steve's voice was still tight, and he took a step back. "Good luck."

Maddie nodded. "Same to you, Cap."

And Steve hurried out of the room before he threw Maddie over his shoulder and dragged her back with him, Clint be damned.

* * *

Steve ran into the man a few feet outside the door. Clint nodded, and Steve pointed a finger at the man.

"Take care of her," He demanded, and Clint smiled.

"Of course." He agreed. And Steve couldn't wait anymore…he had to get out of there.

Clint watched Steve go, proud of the old man. That couldn't have been easy. Then Clint walked into Maddie's room, where Maddie sat, beaming.

"I'm free!" She announced the second Clint entered the room.

"I heard." Clint smiled. "Congrats."

A doctor entered the room. He smiled at Maddie, then Clint.

"Are those my final test results?" Maddie asked.

The doctor nodded and smiled. "Your levels look good, and everything seems to be in order. There is one thing we need to discuss though…"

Maddie looked to Clint nervously, and Clint shrugged. The two of them turned back to the doctor.

The doctor took a deep breath. "It seems that you, Miss Sinclair, are 8-12 weeks pregnant."

Maddie's eyes widened and Clint froze, and the doctor, having not expected this reaction, paused. Then after a moment, he smiled weakly.

"Congratulations?"

* * *

 **So yeah. Maybe Maddie's not as free as she thought...Yaay?**

 **Oh by the way, Escaping from the Avengers stops here! There's more of Maddie to come, but Maddie has left the Avengers! (For now...)**


	12. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.**

* * *

"Okay, so I did something stupid!"

"What like get pregnant and not know who the father is?" Laura leaned over the kitchen table to smack her husband. He shrugged, and Laura shook her head.

"No." Maddie said after a long moment. "Ass."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Oh, okay. Then what?"

Maddie entered the room, and then stepped to the side and spread her hands out. "Ta Da!"

Clint smiled. He couldn't help it.

It had taken Maddie a few days to accept the fact that she was pregnant, and a few days after that to admit that the father could be one of two people. But once Maddie had accepted it, she reasoned that she wouldn't spill the beans until she knew for sure who the father was, and she began to look for a job that would allow her to support a baby on her own…just in case.

It was almost as if Maddie's body had been waiting for her mind to accept it, and within a few weeks Maddie had begun to sport a little belly that didn't look like a baby quite yet…though it was getting there.

Clint and Laura had agreed that Maddie could stay with them as long as she needed to, and Maddie had promised to be there only long enough to find a job and another place to stay.

Clint was hoping she would just stay…but after everything, Maddie needed to make her own choices.

So he just hoped she didn't find a job.

But Maddie was determined. She went to town at least once a week, looking for any kind of position she could find, and usually she came home empty handed.

The strange man that Maddie gestured to that morning was different.

Clint furrowed his eyebrows and turned to his wife.

"Who is this?" Laura asked.

"Okay." Maddie bit her lip. "So he's really nice, I promise, so there's nothing to worry about on that end."

"I don't like this." Clint said immediately, and Maddie shot him a glare. Then she turned to the man, who had dark hair that hung around his face and deep blue eyes that stared blankly ahead.

"Do the thing," Maddie advised. The man grimaced, but Maddie just nodded and smiled.

Finally the man sighed. Then, using his right hand, he ripped his entire left arm, from shoulder to fingertips, right out of its socket.

Laura gasped and Clint jumped up.

"The Winter Soldier!" He recognized immediately. He shot Maddie a dirty look. "You couldn't just bring home a puppy?"

Maddie crossed her arms. "Bucky is cuter." She insisted.

"What kind of person does this?" Clint snapped.

Maddie just rolled her eyes. "Tasha." She said simply, and Laura laughed.

"She's got you there," Laura admitted, and Clint grunted.

"Well…what are we supposed to do with him?"

"He needs a shower." Maddie said after a moment. "And a ride outta town. Also, as it happens, his arm isn't supposed to do that, normally. So I got ahold of Scott and he's gonna meet us in the next state over."

"We're going on a road trip now?" Clint raised his hands in exasperation. Maddie huffed.

"You're not. I'm taking Bucky to Scott, then to New Mexico, and then I'm going to Kansas."

"Why Kansas?" Laura asked, and Maddie grinned.

"I found a job. It's with Alexander Literature. They're a group that hires on freelance writers and then sends them on assignments wherever they're needed. My first assignment is a temporary position at a review magazine in Kansas."

"Kansas is a different state." Clint argued.

"It's also a really good job that will support me and that I won't have to take maternity leave on because I make my own hours and the pay is very competitive, I'll be able to support me and my baby with ease."

Maddie crossed her arms.

"I hate it." Clint proclaimed.

"I don't care." Maddie retorted.

The two glared at each other, and then Laura sighed.

"When are you leaving?" Laura asked.

"As soon as Clint stops being an ass and hugs me goodbye." Maddie grumbled.

Laura raised an eyebrow in Clint's direction.

Clint grimaced, then pulled Maddie into a tight hug. "Thanks for the advance notice," He joked.

Maddie chuckled. "You're lucky I even stopped in to say goodbye."

Clint shook his head, but knew she was right.

"You need anything, you let me know?"

"Duh." Maddie rolled her eyes and gave Laura a hug.

And then she was gone.

Clint sniffled. It was mostly fake. "They grow up so fast."

"She'll be fine." Laura reassured. "She's just…pregnant and driving cross country with an ex-assassin in her passenger seat."

The two were silent. Then Laura chuckled, and Clint couldn't help himself…he joined in.

Only Maddie could get herself into situations like this.

* * *

"So, what was the point of not letting me say anything?"

Maddie tilted her head and shot her new friend a look. "Clint doesn't like it when I have friends."

Bucky Barnes sat silently in the passenger seat. "I don't get it." He finally said. Maddie shrugged.

"It's not supposed to make sense," she explained. "It just is."

"Right." Bucky sighed. "Thanks."

"NO problem. Us screw ups gotta stick together." Bucky, despite himself, chuckled.

He wasn't okay. He knew that and he knew that it would be a long time until he was okay.

But Maddie made him feel not as crazy.

Mostly because she was pretty crazy herself.

"So…baby daddy issues?" Maddie snorted.

"You have no idea," She admitted. "But it's a long, horrible story."

Bucky tilted his head. "We've got time."

"And the horror story that is my life will make you feel better about your own terrible existence?" Maddie inferred.

Bucky grinned. "Exactly."

Maddie sighed heavily, but she smiled. "Alright. So, we have to start from the beginning. It all began when,"

* * *

Surprisingly enough, the story took awhile. Mostly because Bucky had to interrupt often to clarify a point, or to ask questions.

Finally though, Maddie had told the whole, sordid story.

Bucky was quiet for a long time after, thinking hard.

"Wow," Bucky finally said.

"Yep." Maddie agreed.

"That's awesome." Bucky shook his head.

"Yeah." Maddie grinned. "But hey." She shrugged. "I can't regret my baby."

"You kind of could," Bucky pointed out, and Maddie scoffed.

"I could," She relented. A hand fell to rest on her belly. "But I don't." She shot Bucky a look. "Now shut up and let me drive."

Bucky smile and fell silent, and the two shared a companionable silence for awhile.

* * *

Scott was extremely excited to see Maddie. He leaned against his car, fidgeting as he waited for Maddie to arrive.

Sure, at first she'd just been the weird voice that had helped him break into a secure base. But then he'd been told she vouched for him, that she was the reason he was offered a position in the New Avengers Program.

So he was excited to meet her face to face.

When she stepped out of her car though, he couldn't focus on his face. His eyes were immediately drawn to her belly.

"Hey!" The man who had stepped out of the passenger door had Scott jerking upright. "Her eyes are up there."

"Uh, right." Scott smiled apologetically at Maddie. "Sorry about that."

Maddie shrugged. "No problem. It's kind of a new development for me too."

Scott nodded. "Exciting, though right?"

"More like terrifying." Maddie chuckled. Scott nodded in understanding. Then he shot the man a look.

"Oh yeah." The man nodded. "I'm the father." Maddie nodded in confirmation.

Scott smiled. "Well, congratulations. What can I do for you guys?"

Maddie turned to Bucky and grinned. "Do the thing," she advised.

Bucky sighed, and rolled his eyes…but then he did the thing.

* * *

After Scott fixed up Bucky and was sworn to Secrecy, Maddie and Bucky headed to New Mexico.

"Why New Mexico?"

Bucky shrugged. "It's not New York."

That was all Maddie really needed to know, but she pushed anyway.

"And New York is bad?"

"New York is a lot of things." Bucky grimaced. "It's just…too much right now."

"So you're off, one man, alone, betrayed by the country you love?"

Bucky nodded. "Pretty much," he admitted. Then he turned the tables on Maddie.

"Why Kansas?"

"No." Maddie shook her head. "The real question is why Alexander Literature?"

"Alexander?" Bucky furrowed his brow, and Maddie nodded.

"You recognize the name because the Alexander family pretty much owns everything. They have hotels, airlines, businesses, a clothing line, and yes, a publishing company, among a billion other things. Alexander Literature is a branch of their publishing company. They take potential authors and give then temporary freelance positions. If they hire you, it pretty much guarantees you'll have a long and happy writing career." Maddie shook her head. "It takes years of applying to even be considered there…and get this, they called ME." Maddie sighed. "Offered me a job on the spot. I checked everything out, it's legit, even the position in Kansas. I just don't get how they heard of me."

"Sounds suspicious." Bucky mentioned.

"So suspicious!" Maddie agreed. "But I couldn't pass up the opportunity."

Bucky narrowed his eyes. "Be on your guard." He warned.

"Always." Maddie nodded.

"I'm really excited for you." Bucky finished.

"Right?" Maddie smiled. "I feel like we'll be best friends forever."

Bucky smirked. "Totally."

Maddie laughed, and their drive too New Mexico passed much too quickly for both of them.

Maddie stayed a few days in New Mexico to help her new best friend get settled, then she made her way to Kansas. To a new life…to a fresh start.

Just Maddie and her baby.

* * *

 **Maddie is grown...she's pregnant but she'll be fine! She's got a job and a place in Kansas waiting for her!**

 **But uh...there's other stuff in Kansas too. Like what? You might be asking...If you know me, you'll know the answer to that!**

 **And if you don't know...then stay tuned! The next story in the Shift Series is coming up shortly!**

 **~CLC~**


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